KARACHI, June 23: The general discussion on the budget statement for the year 2008-09 and supplementary budget for the year 20007-08 in the Sindh Assembly continued on Monday when the house reassembled after a two-day break.
The discussion lasted over three hours – from 12.45pm to 4.50pm – with a break of 75 minutes for Zohr prayers. Out of a total 13 members who participated in the discussion, three members carried the day. Two of them, Nusrat Bano Sehar Abbasi and Rana Abdul Sattar Rajput of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, were from the opposition benches while Najmuddin Abro of the Pakistan People’s Party sits on the treasury benches.
Their speeches were not only heard with rapt attention, but the speech of Mr Abro drew repeated praise from both sides of the house.Another member who attracted the thumping of desks from the opposition as well as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement from the treasury side was Humera Alwani of the PPP, when, rising on a point of order, she drew the attention of the speaker towards the ministers, saying that out of 45 ministers, only six or seven were present in the house.
Nusrat Abbasi stunned the house with her maiden speech. Taking on the treasury benches for terming the budget “poor-friendly,” she asked what relief was provided to the common man and poor people by the government, which was about to complete its 100 days. The prices of essential commodities had gone up, while there was no stop to the sky-rocketing prices, leaving nothing for people except the option to commit suicide, she said.
She was in the midst of her speech when Speaker Nisar Ahmad Khuhro took over in the chair from Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza, who was presiding over the session since it began at 11.20am.
Ms Abbasi said the Benazir Bhutto stamp card was a good scheme to provide financial relief to poor, but asked what would be its criteria of distribution. If it was the computerized national identity card, as stated, she asked if there was a column in the card indicating the poverty level of its holder. Besides, she asked if all poor people in the country possessed Nadra’s card.
She said it was repeatedly claimed by the treasury that there was no political victimisation, but being an advocate herself she had been handling cases of victimisation, claiming that according to her information, about 100,000 PML-F workers were politically victimised.
She reminded the treasury of the words of their late leader Benazir Bhutto, who was on record saying that no one would be victimised in the PPP government.
Inherited problems
Najmuddin Abro of the PPP said that soaring prices and the law and order problem was inherited by the government from the past set-up. “The mess created by the last government would take time to clear up. Out of those who were responsible for the crisis, one had escaped to Dubai while the other had run away to London,” he said.
He asked those who were talking about water shortage, unemployment, non-availability of medicines in hospitals, deteriorating law and order situation, price hike, turning schools into Autaqs and other pressing issues if all these issues were the outcome of the last two-month rule.
Mr Abro also demanded that funds should be provided in the budget to start construction of the new assembly hall.
Rana Abdul Sattar of the PML-F, in his maiden speech in the assembly, drew appreciation from Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, who asked the chair to allow him extra time to complete his speech and give proposals for the benefit of the government.
At the very start of his speech he said that as the last government had indulged in victimisation and indulged in wrongdoing, the people had rejected them in the election. “If you also indulge in the same practice, the people will also reject you,” he warned.
Assuring the PPP of full cooperation from the small minority in the opposition, he lauded the conciliatory spirit of the PPP and its efforts of seeking the cooperation of the MQM and Awami National Party despite being in a position to form the government on its own.He said the budget documents were prepared by bureaucrats and did not represent the people’s aspirations. He asked the government to involve representatives of the people in the budget formation.
Raza Haider of the MQM said that one minister informed the house that all those found with fancy number plates or tinted glass vehicles would be fined, but one could see many vehicles parked in the assembly violating the rules.
He said despite power outages of eight to 10 hours, the bills were being received as usual.
Haji Ahmad Ali Patafi of the PPP recalled the ‘people-friendly’ schemes in the budget and said that if a new bridge was constructed on the Indus River between Ghotki and Khadhkot, it would help in improving law and order in the Kacha areas.
Mohammad Khalid Anwar of the MQM suggested that in order to provide relief to the common man, a rations system should be introduced instead of the Utility Stores Corporation, which had failed to deliver.
Kulsoom Chandio, Ali Murad Rajar, Rashida Panhwar, Sherjeel Memon of the PPP and Mohammad Rafiq Bhanban of the PML-F and Suhail Yusuf of the MQM also participated in the discussion.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Monday informed the house that he had taken notice of the reported kidnapping of Dr Hasan Jaleesi and an inquiry has been initiated by the DIG police, who was asked to submit the report within a week.
The chief minister made this statement in the house when opposition member Shahryar Khan Mehar of the PML-Q drew the attention of the house by raising the incident through a point of order.
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