Budget passage illegal: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Thursday that the budget was passed illegally as the Speaker had robbed the members of their votes.

“Today’s budget approval is unconstitutional and illegal and I have written a letter to the Speaker on this as If this mistake is not rectified, this budget will be illegal. This budget of this government is morally unconstitutional. We will take up this issue from Kashmir to Karachi,” he said while addressing a press conference at Sindh House along with Raja Pervez Ashraf, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Farhatullah Babar and other leaders of the PPP.

He said that what had happened in the National Assembly was a bad tradition as each member had the right to represent his or her constituency.

“The government had lost its moral legitimacy, now it has lost its legal legitimacy,” he said.

He said the Speaker verbally approved the bill and if a member challenges, the Speaker must take notice of it.

“Today, when I challenged a voice vote on an important occasion, the Speaker violated the rules of the Speaker and deprived me of my right,” he said.

He said all the PPP members were present.

“I am responsible for my own party and fulfil his promise with Opposition leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif that all of my members will be present to vote against the budget,” he said. He said that we have no confidence in this chair after the attack on the Leader of the Opposition. “If political resistance does not come now, when will it come,” he questioned. He said the opposition leader was attacked and he cannot stand it.

“I don’t know how the PMLN withstood in parliament,” he added.

Bilawal said he will raise the issue of incomplete number of opposition.

“Only way the opposition can put up effective resistance is when the leader of the opposition is present in the house,” he said.

Responding to questions, Bilawal said that the Speaker has convened a meeting of the National Security Committee at my request. “I will attend this meeting myself, and will put his suggestions to the government,” he said.

In the past, he said we had always had the wrong policies towards Afghanistan. “We have to learn from the mistakes of the past, otherwise the common man will have to suffer the consequences,” he said.

In a reply to a question, he said that assets of the NAB chairman should be made public but also the assets of every NAB officer should be brought to light.

He said the NAB chairman should voluntarily put the assets before the nation from the day of his appointment till date otherwise we will bring in a legislation.

He said he had directed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to legislate on the assets of the provincial NAB and anti-corruption officers.

In a reply to another question, the PPP chairman said that he hopes that all agencies responsible for national security will attend the committee meeting.

“We need to have a realistic policy towards Afghanistan,” he said.

He said our Foreign Office has to play the right role, as our diplomatic campaign is not up to the mark on this issue.