LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution that was moved by the opposition benches, calling upon the Punjab government to increase the allowances of the provincial legislators.
The resolution was not on the House’s business list, but Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi permitted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) legislator Raheela Khadim Hussian to table the resolution that demanded increase in the legislators’ allowances.
Since the resolution was in the interest of all the legislators, no opposition came from the treasury benches, despite the fact that it was tabled by their arch-rival PML-N.
While addressing the House, Raheela Khadim Hussian said that the government needs to increase their allowances as it has become difficult to meet the expenses due to inflation.
The Speaker agreed with the N-League legislator by saying that the fares of PIA have quadrupled and hence he asked Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat to immediately take up the matter with the finance division and get the increase.
Meanwhile, PPP legislator Syed Hassan Murtaza came hard on the Punjab government for not meeting the needs of farmers. He told the House that the season for wheat sowing has arrived, but astonishingly both DAP and urea fertilisers are not available in the market. “If the fertilisers are not made available on time then we may face a food crisis,” he warned.
He further said that the government makes tall claims of providing relief to the agriculture sector, but the condition of the farmers is still deplorable. He ridiculed the treasury benches by saying that their ‘weather minister’ even takes credit for rains.
He lamented the government for failing to control inflation which has made the common man’s survival very difficult. “Now, we are forced to accept Rs4 hike in petrol price every month till March next year; by coming January the petrol price will be touching Rs200 per litre. The government is also planning to increase the electricity tariff. Who will be responsible for the inflation?” he asked.
He accused the government of surrendering before the International Monetary Funds; “a cut of Rs200 billion was made in the development projects, besides withdrawing Rs300 billion subsidies from various sectors”. “If the development work stops, there will be no work. What the working class will do if the subsidy ends. In which direction are we heading, and what will be our future,” he questioned.
“We have repeatedly urged the government to work on inflation and agriculture, but it seems that Buzdar government is clueless. If the government shows me the work it has done, I will resign immediately,” he added.
He said for the incompetence of the current government, the people will hold the legislators accountable and subsequently humiliate them.
In response, Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat asked Syed Hassan Murtaza to go somewhere else (in another country) if he feels that he will face humiliation, and added that “we are the first government to give a package of Rs150 billion and we are well aware of the inflation.” “Shah Sahib has painted a horrible picture, but the reality is different,” he added.
On the occasion, the House passed three bills, including The University of Lahore (Amendment) Bill 2021, The Rashid Latif Khan University Bill 2021, and The Public Community Safety Measures in Sports and Health Club’s Premises Bill 2021.
Moreover, two bills were tabled before the House, including The National College of Business Administration and Economics Lahore (Amendment) Bill 2021 and The Punjab Institute of Quran and Seerat Studies (Amendment) Bill 2021 which referred to relevant committees. Later, the Speaker prorogued the House.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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