The PPP offered support to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday for the approval of the provincial budget in order to avoid the PML-N having to ask support from dissidents and turncoats, but also demanded the removal of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah from the provincial cabinet.
The CM, formally taking part in assembly business for the first time, announced meanwhile that he would resign if any embezzlement was proven in the projects announced by the government such as the Ashiyana Housing Scheme, Yellow Cabs Scheme and Daanish Schools Project.
The Punjab Assembly budget session, chaired by Rana Iqbal Ahmad Khan, began on Thursday, with Sharif especially joining the House to explain the factual position of some of the projects and schemes introduced by his party’s government in the annual budget for 2011-12.
The opposition is strongly against the projects, declaring them ineffective. Sharif told the House about the various projects in detail such as the Foreign Aid for Development Programme, Daanish Schools, Green Tractors, Sasti Roti, Ashiyana Housing Scheme and Lahore-Kasur Link Road, and highlighted the Bank of Punjab and Haris Steel Mills scam cases.
He said setting up Daanish Schools equipped with modern academic facilities for poor children was an important step towards realising the ideals of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam. He said if it were in his power, he would set up such schools in every corner of the country and allocate all resources to the provision of basic facilities to the people.
He said that Ashiyana Housing Scheme was meant for widows, orphans, families of martyrs and low-income people, and this scheme would be at par with the housing societies of the elite with regard to basic amenities. He also said a subsidy of Rs 2 billion was given under the Green Tractor Scheme and tractors were provided to farmers through transparent balloting. The speaker formed two committees to verify the Lahore-Kasur Link Road and Ashiyana Housing Scheme projects.
Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa, Raja Riaz, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin and a minister to be decided later would be the members of the committees. PML-Q’s Chaudhry Zaheeruddin appreciated the CM for his positive vision to improve the situation in the province but said his team was incompetent, which was the reason for the failure of his previous projects.
When Zaheeruddin finished his speech and Raja Riaz stood to address the House, the CM immediately left the premises without hearing the opposition’s reply to his claims, assurances and guaranties regarding the government projects. Riaz said Law Minister Sanaullah was creating differences between the treasury and opposition and damaging the democratic system, restored after a hectic struggle against dictatorial rule.
Riaz said the PPP would exercise its right of vote in favour of the 2011-12 budget and extend its unconditional support to the government in this regard just to strengthen democracy so that the government did not have to get the support of turncoats.