ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Sajid Nawaz Khan, as a sign of protest at “overcharging of power consumers”, went to Thursday’s National Assembly’s session— wearing a garland made of electricity bills.
Sajid Nawaz said during the session that the bills he had opted to wear were the ones on which power consumers were charged more than the units than they had actually consumed.
On this occasion, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Abid Sher Ali said that he would like to wear ‘kundas’ through which electricity is stolen, adding that the bills wouldn’t be waived off as the country was not made for electricity thieves.
As the PML-N MNA called Sajid Nawaz’s protest a “drama”, various PTI members stood in their seats in protest. Responding to Abid Sher’s statements, PTI leader Arif Alvi demanded that the PML-N minister takes back his words “drama” and “power theft”, to which the deputy speaker responded that nothing about “power theft” would be taken back.
This is not the first time that ministers have worn garlands to the National Assembly as a sign of protest. It was first seen on June 14, 2017, when Pakistan People’s Party MNA Shazia Marri wore a garland of fruits and vegetables as a sign of protest for the sudden rise in prices.
