‘Power’ politics

By all means, yesterday turned out to be a devastating day for the government, as the opposition’s claims of having enough members of the ruling party on its side turned out to be true. At least 10 PTI MNAs gave interviews to different media channels and openly said they would cast their votes on the no-confidence motion that has been tabled. As per those dissenting MNAs, there are a total of 24 MNAs who will come out in the open in the next few days. Sindh House in Islamabad – where the dissenting PTI MNAs are huddled, or hiding, for now – resembled a political carnival, with journalists interviewing anyone wanting to talk (and it seems most of them are willing to talk in detail about just why they felt the need to vote against their own party). For weeks the opposition had been claiming that they had enough numbers to oust the prime minister without the support of the government’s allies. The past week, we saw the prime minister and his cabinet hold a flurry of meetings, trying to woo back the government allies. But Pervaiz Elahi’s interview two days back seemed to have been a curtain-raiser for what transpired on Thursday. And now that the opposition has shown their cards openly, it is only a matter of time before we see the allies make some sort of concrete announcement.

The response from the government has been hardly surprising – live meltdowns on TV screens, some of them in terrible taste and resorting to openly abusing the opposition and their own dissenting members. Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed’s revelation that he had advised the PM to go for Governor’s rule in Sindh may seem like a far-fetched idea but can lead to an even more dangerous collision with the opposition. Contrary to musings over whether the prime minister will resign, government ministers have said the March 27 rally is set to take place as was decided. Given the reaction from the government’s side and the confidence with which the opposition is planning its moves, any such showdown on the streets can be very dangerous. This is why even the government’s allies have said that both the opposition and the ruling party should show restraint. The no-confidence move too seems to still be on course, despite Thursday’s happenings, and there have been reports that the speaker may find a way to move the defection clause on those MNAs who have come out in support of the opposition.

It should also be noted that the MNAs who vote against their party will possibly eventually be de-seated but analysts say that many parliamentarians belonging to the ruling party admit in private how they will not be able to win on a PTI ticket in the next elections. In constituency politics, votes are all that matter. The ruling party’s allegations about MNAs selling themselves for ‘crores’ of rupees may have had an impact if the allegations were backed with some proof. That has not been forthcoming. Regardless of anything, we must ask the government to exercise restraint; any incitement to violence regarding these parliamentarians is uncalled for. Floor-crossing or horse-trading cannot be justified but there is a constitutional penalty for that and that is what the government needs to be looking at instead of resorting to personal attacks. There can be a debate on the right or wrong of the vote of no confidence and the dissenting MNAs from within the ruling party, but legal experts are all unanimous in their opinion that every parliamentarians has a right to cast his/her vote. What is needed right now is for all sides – particularly the government – to stick to the basic law of the land and allow the democratic process to work out a solution. At the moment, though, things are not looking too bright for the PTI government – no matter what spin is given to their own members voting against the PM.