ISLAMABAD     -    The National Assembly proceedings yesterday witnessed verbal brawl between the treasury and the opposition over the hasty legislation done by the government.

As many as eleven ordinances were passed in the lower house of the parliament the other day without holding mandatory debate in the assembly.

Speaking on point of order, PML-N parliamentary leader Khwaja Asif condemned the conduct of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who did not pay any heed to opposition protest and facilitated the passing of the ordinances sans debate.

The opposition may approach the Supreme Court for a legal interpretation of the Constitution to decide if the government’s passing the bills without debate was legal, he warned.

Following the adjournment of Friday’s session, the opposition also submitted a resolution for no-confidence against the deputy speaker for violating the rules and sought his removal from the office.

Earlier, during the session, the lawmakers from both sides of aisle challenged each other for by-polls in the constituency of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman, who is leading an anti-government sit-in in the capital.

The house, in around two hours long proceedings, could not dispose of even a single agenda item as the MNAs from both sides preferred spending the whole time in speeches against each other.

The house echoed with the slogans of ‘Diesel-Diesel’ (a derogatory reference to Fazlur Rehman) during the speeches of opposition members, while the opposition raised ‘Go-Niazi-go’ slogans during the speeches from the government side.

PML-N leader Khwaja Muhammad Asif in his speech said that Thursday was a black day in the history of national assembly.

“A person [deputy speaker] elected on 65,000 fake votes had insulted the parliament as eleven ordinances were passed without conducting debate in the house,” he said, warning that this kind of attitude by the ruling side could end up in derailment of democracy.

He warned that the opposition would approach the apex court for a legal interpretation of the constitution over the passing of so many ordinances without debate and consent of the lawmakers. “We will have no choice but to approach court if our concerns are not addressed.”

PML-N’s parliamentary leader also said that the hasty passage of bills by the assembly was not a good omen.

“Our federation cannot survive without democracy.... Democracy is the only relation that has kept this federation united,” he said and cautioned that democracy would be ruined if the government kept this attitude.

Responding the Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak’s remarks that the opposition should persuade JUI-F to end its sit-in, Asif reminded him that it was the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) which introduced the sit-in culture in the country.

“Khattak Sab, you used to dance on the container during the PTI sit-in [in Islamabad],” he remarked.

The PML-N leader advised National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to remain neutral and not become a party to any political dispute. “You [Speaker] should keep distance from the ongoing dialogue between government and opposition,” he said.

Senior member of Pakistan Peoples Party, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, on his turn, also came down hard on the government for approving ordinances in haste.

“We [MNAs] are sitting in parliament for conducting debate on legislative business, [and] not to stamp bills without even knowing its crux,” he said and posed a question about the utility of standing committees.