LAHORE, Sept 29: Law Minister Raja Basharat was about to table a bill in the house, which was the last item on the Punjab Assembly’s Friday session agenda, when an opposition member threw a spanner in the works. “Mr Speaker, the house is not in quorum,” said Sheikh Ejaz from Faisalabad. Simultaneously, all opposition lawmakers present in the house went to the lobbies. A few, however, stayed back to monitor the situation.

Speaker Afzal Sahi immediately ordered a count. The opposition MP was right in his claim. The speaker ordered the ringing of bells. Some ruling party members present in the lobbies returned to the house. After about 10 minutes, members were counted anew and the speaker was told that the house was still not in quorum. The session was adjourned for Monday morning.

Had the lack of quorum not been pointed out, the session would have come to an end after only a few more minutes as other items on the agenda had already been disposed of. But the opposition did not miss the opportunity of embarrassing the treasury.

The question is: what did the opposition gain from its move? And why are an army of ministers, parliamentary secretaries and chairmen of the standing committees, drawing huge salaries and having other benefits, unable to maintain quorum?

Observers who have been watching the proceedings of the Punjab Assembly are of the view that the performance of the 372-strong legislature is hardly satisfactory — contrasting sharply with the government claims that it carried out a record legislation over the past four years. The situation was not any worse when the so-called elected house lay in abeyance. The province was being run better and the burden on the public resources was far less than it is today.

Opposition lawmakers are facing an embarrassing situation. They have tendered resignations to their leaders, leaving it to them to submit them to the speaker at an appropriate time. The chief minister continues to taunt them that after submitting their resignations, they are left with little justification to sit in the house. Opposition members can’t counter the argument, and they will continue to sit in the house unless their leaders take a decision to the contrary. For as long as they are there, they will continue to embarrass the treasury.

But there are also lessons for the chief minister to learn. He knows better when a resignation is tendered or accepted. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was the speaker when an MPA from Chakwal tendered his resignation for reasons best known to him. The speaker shelved the matter, saying it would take him time to tally the signature. In fact, the behind-the-scenes efforts were going on to persuade the member to take back his resignation. After a few months it emerged that the ruling party had succeeded in its mission. However, after some more time the lawmaker from Chakwal again tendered his resignation, which was accepted.

The chief minister, going by his own precedent, should let the PA speaker first receive the resignations and then verify the signatures. If it took Pervaiz Elahi three to four months to ‘verify’ the signature and then send the resignation back, Mr Sahi would be needing much longer time to reach a conclusion — as and when the resignations are actually handed in. It is quite possible that by the time the opposition legislators resign and the speaker verifies their signatures, the assemblies will have already completed their term.

Another point meriting the chief minister’s attention is the conduct of his party legislators. They are always present in large numbers to thump desks when the boss is in the house. But they have developed a tendency for truancy when he is not present. The “when the cat is away, the mice will play” attitude should be discouraged. Legislators should play the role of proud representatives of their constituents so that the impression of many being sycophants or hangers-on is eschewed.

The PPP’s Nishat Afza was critical of the government’s decision to call an assembly session during the month of Ramazan. “While the ruling party legislators might be pious, pardoned souls, the sinful sitting on the opposition benches need time for worship in the holy month,” she said, calling for adjournment of the session till after Eidul Fitr. She said since verbal sparring was part of the assembly business, sanctity of the holy month could not be ensured if a session was called during Ramazan.

Quick came an answer from parliamentary secretary Dr Farzana Nazir. “The battle of Badr was fought in Ramazan. This month teaches us self-control. Fasting doesn’t mean one should stay in bed for the whole day. It means performing your prayers and serving the people to the best of your ability,” advised the doctor.

Realising that the argument had disarmed the Ramazan session opponents, one MP proposed that the parliamentary secretary should be regularly presenting a religious programme on a TV channel. The idea was applauded.