Punjab Assembly: PML-N resorts to uproar, vandalism, scuffle during budget speech

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly plunged into complete disorder after a scuffle broke out between the treasury and opposition MPAs during the budget speech of Finance Minister Hashmi Jawan Bakht.

The PA session, held on Tuesday during which the finance minister presented the budget for the fiscal year 2018-19, witnessed one of the most tense days for years when the MPAs from both sides indulged in brawl and threw budget books towards one another. The furniture and other material of the Punjab Assembly was also damaged by the opposition, which was protesting the arrest of opposition leader in National Assembly Mian Shahbaz Sharif. From the very outset, the session witnessed severe tension after opposition leader Hamza Shahbaz was not allowed to speak to lodge his protest over the arrest of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif.

After the Punjab Assembly speaker refused to give floor to Hamza Shahbaz, the opposition members stood up on their seats, and some of them surrounded the chair of Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. The PML-N, whose individual strength in theHouse of 371 is nearing 170 now, played the role of a very tough opposition during the budget speech, and its members chanted vociferous slogans against Prime Minister Imran Khan like “Go Niazi Go, Chor, Daku and Donkey Raja Ki Sarkar Nae Chalay Gi”.

When the finance minister started the speech, the PML-N MPAs started marching towards him as well as the chair and in order to block their way, the PTI legislators also moved forward, which eventually led to the scuffle between two sides.

The brawl between the two MPAs started when Tariq Masih Gill and Mian Naveed of the PML-N, in order to move towards the speaker and finance minister, were resisted by the ruling party legislators.

The speaker also sought the help of ‘Sergeant at Arms’ to control the MPAs moving towards him and a DSP, deployed on the security of the speaker pushed back PML-N member Tariq Masih Gill, who was trying to approach the speaker.

In order to aid their party men, other members of the PML-N including senior member like Mujatab Shujaur Rehman also moved ahead and had a scuffle with the DSP, though he later claimed he was just pushing security personnel back.

Tariq Masih Gill, the PML-N MPA, in an outrage once again moved to the speaker’s chair and shook the bench lying before his dais and eventually dragged it completely. During that time, some of the ministers and senior members of the House including Akhter Malik, Shaukat Laleka, Saeed Niwani also remained busy in calming down the opposition.

Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, later on, suspended membership of five PML-N MPAs and issued notices to them for causing disorder in the House during the budget speech. Those issued show-cause notices were Tariq Masih, Yasin Sohal, Peer Ashraf Rasul, Zaibunnisa Awan and Malik Waheed.

The PML-N, which has been a ruling party in Punjab for the last 10 years, had the first budget as the opposition and the tense situation in the House was very similar to the one the House saw about a decade ago while Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was the CM and Raja Basharat was the law minister in the PML-Q government.

At that time, the PPP was the major opposition component and Qasim Zia was the leader of the opposition, whereas Rana Sanaullah Khan was acting as deputy opposition leader. Between 2002 to 2007, while the PML-Q was in power, the Punjab Assembly sessions witnessed disorders many a times and on different occasion, the opposition MPAs also faced arrest outside the assembly.

Later in 2008, while the PML-N was back in power with the PPP as its ally, the PML-Q became the opposition in the House and within months, its strength reduced further as a result of formation of a forward bloc in it. However, a tiny opposition of the PML-Q that comprised of MPAs like Chaudhry Zaheerurdin, Samina Khawar Hayat, Seemal Kamran, Bushra Gardezi, and others also gave tough time to the treasury.

In June 2009, the PA also had a very tense day during a budget session when a provincial minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor Khan was suspended for attacking a female opposition MPA Bushra Gardezi.

In the later years, while the PPP was in the opposition, situation mostly remained normal in the House. Between 2013 to 2018, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, PML-Q and PPP were the part of opposition, the House witnessed verbal clashes but nothing similar to that which occurred on Tuesday.