If Waheeda Shah could be disqualified for slapping then why weren’t the politicians who had taken money in Mehran Bank Scandal punished, demanded the opposition members in Punjab Assembly on Monday.
However, the Deputy Speaker did not allow them to speak on the matter saying its sub-judice. The House also unanimously passed a resolution stressing for a quota for special persons in the Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies. The PA session started with a delay of more than one hour under the chair of Deputy Speaker Mashhood Ahmed Khan. The question hour was about Communication and Works Department while Provincial Minister Ahmed Ali Aulakh replied to the question.
PPP parliamentarians diverted the question hour session to Mehran Bank case. PPP parliamentary leader Zulfiqar Ali Gondal deviated from his supplementary question on Lahore Ring Road and accused the PML-N leaders of taking money from ISI to topple the Benazir Bhutto’s government. He argued that if Waheeda Shah could be penalised then those involved in the Mehrangate scandal should also be punished. Shaukat Basra of PPP also demanded of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to come to the House and take an oath on the Quran that he did not take the money from the ISI.
Deputy Speaker Rana Mashud strongly reacted to their remarks and told them to refrain from further commenting on the matter since it was a sub-judice matter. “Let the courts decide the matter and it should not be discussed in the House,” he added.
Later, the opposition members walked out of the House to register protest against Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah Khan for not keeping his word regarding providing development funds. PPP’s Zulifqar Gondal said that three Rajputs including Law Minister Rana Sana, Speaker Rana Iqbal and Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood had given them assurances about the development funds but they had failed to keep their words. “It is our right to get Rs 8 million development each but it was being denied by the CM,” he added.
However, Rana Sana said that the opposition members had already been given Rs 70 million development funds each by the Prime Minister. “The PPP members have been given funds from the federal government so they had no claims over provincial government development funds,” he added.
The issue of development funds prolonged and many MPAs like Azma Bukhari, Nazim Hussain and Shaukat Basra criticised the government for funds. The opposition also boycotted the session but later joined the proceedings. An MPA of JUP (Niazi), Ali Haider Noor Khan Niazi, tabled the resolution for disabled persons stating stated that a quota should be fixed in national and provincial parliaments for special persons. A quota is fixed for both women and minorities in the Senate, national assemblies and provincial assemblies, a similar gesture should be extended to the special persons, it added. Later the session was prorogued.
