Chaos in the house

“Expunge this and expunge that.” This is one of the most commonly used phrases used by our honourable speaker of the National Assembly whenever the house is in session. Amidst the roar and ruckus of our lawmakers, the speaker tries his level best to appease the wrangling parliamentarians so that the business of the house may be run smoothly. The discussion in parliament starts with decent note but as time passes a flurry of allegations and counter-allegations follows which ceases only when the session is adjourned. Now, this is happening almost on a daily basis. The decorum of the house is thrown to the wind. The entire nation pins hopes that something positive will come out by the time the session comes to an end. But all our hopes are razed to the ground when we find our parliamentarians hurling accusations on each other. Instead of discussing the plethora of problems faced by the common people, they indulge in settling their personal grudges. Nothing comes out of nothing and the same principle works in our National Assembly at the moment. Our elected representatives must keep in mind that the business of the house is run with the help of tax-payers' money.

At the moment, every Pakistani is up against a number of enigmatic problems which are making their lives unbearable. Sometimes the prices of perishable edibles touch the skies and some other time they find themselves grappling with the rising prices of flour and sugar. In the same way, ever-increasing tariffs of gas and electricity have a seismic effect on them, and they have to compromise either on healthcare or the education of their children to keep their stoves burning and their bulbs on. The discussion in parliament is tantamount to adding insults to their injuries. It would be far better if only issues of national, regional and global import are discussed in parliament. Both the respected members of the house and the speaker are requested to work together to expunge 'expunge' itself from the prestigious house once and for all.

Muhammad Fayyaz Nawrha

Mianwali