LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly session convened by Speaker Parvez Elahi passed the Punjab Free and Compul­sory Education (Amendment) Bill 2020 in the absence of the law minister and any member of the treasury, who were holding a parallel session in a nearby official building here on Tuesday.

The private bill was moved by Mian Shafi Muhammad. It was supported by members from both sides of the aisle and then referred to the standing committee on school education in December 2020. The panel had accorded its approval, yet the draft had been pending since then.

The bill’s movers back then included the PTI’s Mian Shafi, Sadia Sohail Rana, Sabrina Javed, Malik Wasiq Mazhar, Shahina Karim, Farah Agha and Shamim Aftab; PML-N’s Kanwal Pervaiz Chaudhry, Raheela Naeem, Uzma Qadri, Haseena Begum and Aswa Aftab; and PPP’s Shazia Abid. Of them, the PML-N and PPP lawmakers were missing on Tuesday.

During the latest session, Mian Shafi said Article 25A of the Constitution obliged the state to ensure free and compulsory education for children between the ages of five and 16 years. A law for the purpose was passed in October 2014 but had yet to be implemented. The amendment bill demanded the law be notified and rules framed for its implementation, he added.

Thin attendance seen in treasury-only sitting

Meanwhile, opposition leader Sibtain Khan of the PTI chided the treasury for not presenting the provincial budget in the session being held at the assembly chambers even though the speaker had invited the minister in charge for the finance department, Sardar Awais Leghari.

He also requested the speaker to limit the proceedings of the ongoing 41st session of the house to a day, as due to their engagements in the assembly they were unable to campaign for the by-polls on 20 PA seats.

PTI MPA Ahmad Khan Bhachhar claimed the government was holding an ‘unconstitutional’ session at Aiwan-i-Iqbal because it believed it could not muster enough support to get the budget passed from the house. He said the ruling PML-N had set another wrong precedent by conducting a session outside the assembly building.

Former agriculture minister Hussain Jahanian Gardezi regretted that for the first time the government had allowed police to enter the Punjab Assembly.

Musarrat Cheema, Momina Waheed, Abbas Shah and Sajida also spoke during the session after which the speaker put off the proceedings for a week, and the house would now meet again on June 28.

Parallel sitting

Over at the Aiwan-i-Iqbal, a parallel Punjab Assembly session held by the ruling coalition without any opposition was more of a eulogy contest — one after the other, the lawmakers praised the budget as a fine piece of financial artisanship, which is “balanced, people-friendly and pro-poor”.

Some three dozen members participated in the budget ‘debate’. Since the chief minister did not grace the house, most of the members also did not bother to show up. The thin attendance, however, helped the treasury run though the debate and conclude it quickly.

Wednesday (today) may be a different day, when the government plans to get the budget approved, for which all of its members are expected to be present. On Tuesday, the entire debate was reduced to showering praises on the budget.

“The bill reflects the financial sagacity of a capable protégé and son of a proven efficient father,” Maulana Ilyas Chinioti said while beginning his speech. The PTI government left the province and country in fiscal ruins; the PML-N is trying to undo the situation and it must be (politically) strengthened in its efforts.

The maulana, however, also dared the government to drop his recommended scheme (Faisalabad-Chiniot-Jhang road) and he would quit. The dilapidated road has been causing dozens of deaths each year in accidents and leaving hundreds more maimed. “It is a matter of life and death for us and I feel useless sitting in the assembly if I cannot get this old scheme included in the Annual Development Plan (ADP). I request the chair and finance minister (Awais Khan Leghari sitting a few chairs next to him) to take note and act. Otherwise, my resignation is confirmed,” he challenged.

Recently returning to the party fold, former PML-N dissident Jaleel Sharaqpuri wanted the provincial finance bill to be more pro-poor. Offering suggestions, he asked his colleagues to “forego their salaries and perks”. It may not make any difference as far as its financial impact is concerned, but would certainly send a message to the masses that “we care”. All Grade 21 officers may also be included in the effort by halving their salaries.

“Though they are purely symbolic, but these gestures do matter,” he said and advised the government to suspend the entire ADP for a year and divert resources to poverty alleviation. “Heavens won’t fall if roads are not built for a year. But people suffering from hunger do matter and must be saved at every cost.”

Another treasury member asked the Punjab government to leave everything aside and concentrate on cotton alone. “Cotton production and trade has fallen by 50 per cent since 2018, when the PML-N was forced out of power. If we, as a province, restore cotton to its past glory and yield, the country may not need the IMF handouts, which come at a great national cost. In order to achieve this, Punjab should ask its scientists to come up with hybrid seeds, which it has not been able to develop so far.”

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2022