ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday threatened to boycott the entire budget session of the Senate before staging a walkout from the house against the attitude of Deputy Chairman Sabir Ali Baloch, saying the opposition was not being given proper time to take part in the debate.
On the other hand, Haji Adeel Ahmed of ANP took part in the debate and suggested reducing the defence budget by 10 per cent.
Senior PML-N leader Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, while interrupting the speech of Senator Saeed Ghani of PPP, said his party was being forced to boycott the entire budget session due to the biased attitude of the chair. He strongly reacted to the move of the deputy chairman for not giving proper time to the opposition members to deliver their speeches on the finance bill.
He questioned was it not the right of the opposition to criticise the budget document presented by the government. "It is true that you (deputy chairman) were elected on a PPP seat but you would have to keep neutral posture, otherwise you will not see any cooperation from our side," he added.
He requested Baloch to have pity on Senate and said it would be up to him whether to damage the institution only because of his behaviour. Raja’s remarks came when the deputy chairman gave the floor of the house to the treasury member for the second time consecutively to deliver his speech on the Finance Bill 2012-13.
The PML-N leader was of the view that it had been decided earlier that members from the treasury and the opposition benches would deliver their speeches turn by turn. But the deputy chairman said according to a chit submitted to him by the Senate secretary, the names of PML-N lawmakers were listed after Haji Adeel of ANP and Saeed Ghani of PPP.
As the PML-N members were staging a walkout, the deputy chairman remarked that they had to go by making some excuse.
Leader of the House Jahangir Badr requested the PML-N to end the protest as the deputy chairman had offered apology on the issue; however, Baloch rebutted the statement, saying he did not apologised to anyone.
Earlier, Haji Adeel Ahmed appreciated the government for presenting a business-friendly and reasonable budget in the wake of poor law and order situation in the country. He proposed agriculture sector should also be brought into income tax net, while the defence expenditure should be decreased up to 10 per cent. He also said that all the poverty alleviation programmes, including BISP and Zakat Fund, should be merged into one for effective action.
Adeel admitted corruption had penetrated into all institutions and the functionaries of the provinces and federal governments. He felt sorry that the federal government had allocated a very meagre amount for the on-going and future development projects, including power generation in Khyber Pk.
He said the government should abandon its policy of allotment of commercial and residential plots to the blue-eyed boys, adding that there should be more raise in the salaries of low grade employees than the ones working in higher grades and power distribution companies should he handed over to the provinces to overcome the power crisis.
Senator Saeed Ghani was the last speaker who took part in the debate before the house was adjourned till today (Thursday) at 10 am. He admitted that the inflation and unemployment were on the rise in the country, but said the remittances and foreign reserves increased during the incumbent regime, while the salaries of government employees were increased up to 130 per cent.
He said Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif should be tried for high treason under the Constitution as he was instigating the people of his province to protest against the federal government on the issue of loadshedding.