ISLAMABAD: The Senate passed recommendations of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance on the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) Bill 2010 amid rumpus in the House on Friday.
Senate Chairman Farooq Naek clearly supported the number-weak PPP by rejecting the majority view, disallowing a vote on a note of proposal jointly put by the PML-Q, the JUI-F and the MQM. He rejected opposition parties’ plea to count the votes, saying the voice vote was uncertain – thus undoubtedly facilitating the treasury benches.
The PML-Q walked out when the Senate chairman called for a voice vote. Its absence weakened the number-strong opposition, allowing the government to pass the recommendations. However, senators from the MQM, the JUI-F, the PML-N and the JI stood up and shouted “No to GST”. The chairman went to the extent of making obvious remarks in favour of the treasury, which the protesting members forced him to expunge.
It was for the first time in the country’s parliamentary history that remarks of the chairman were expunged from the record. Naek contradicted himself when he assured the House that he would first give his ruling on the admissibility of the note of proposal and would then allow the report of the finance committee to be laid in the House.
Later, he directed the chairman of the committee, Ahmad Ali, to lay the report in the House, threatening that someone else would do that if Ali did not follow his directions. After the report was laid, the chairman ruled that the proposal submitted by the PML-Q, the MQM and the JUI-F was inadmissible.
In the note of proposal, Leader of the Opposition Wasim Sajjad had sought an order from the chairman to allow the House to recommend the National Assembly to reject the reformed GST bill 2010. The PML-Q, JUI-F and MQM senators kept demanding the chairman exercise his discretionary powers and take sense of the House on the note of proposal. There was obvious panic among the treasury benches and Minister for Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh looked worried.
Time and again, he consulted Law Minister Babar Awan. He, along with Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Hina Rabbani Khar also went to Sajjad, PML-Q President Shujaat Hussain, PML-N leader Ishaq Dar and Prof Khurshid to persuade them. Malik and Islamuddin Shaikh also tried to calm the MQM and the JUI-F senators throughout the proceedings.
In contrast, the treasury benches seemed apologetic. Only the ANP came out in the open to support the government and Haji Adeel and Ilyas Bilour supported the recommendations and opposed the majority view of the opposition parties, MQM and JUI-F.
FATA members also stood divided as Abbas Khan supported the government while Saleh Shah supported the JUI-F senators. Opposing the senators’ demand, Leader of the House Nayyar Bokhari contended that the members should not deviate from their stance adopted in the finance committee.
