LAHORE - The opposition will not point out quorum during the general debate on the Annual Budget 2020-21 and the opposition members will record their protest while standing in their seats instead of huddling up in Punjab Assembly session due to resume today (Thursday). It was decided during a meeting via video-link of the Punjab Assembly Business Advisory Committee with Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the chair, here on Wednesday.
The video-link meeting was attended by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, Law Minister Raja Basharat, MPAs Muhammad Moavia, Abbas Ali Shah, Opposition MPAs Malik Nadeem Kamran, Samiullah Khan, Khalil Tahir Sindhu, PPP Parliamentary Leader Hassan Murtaza, Secretary PA Muhammad Khan Bhatti and Inayatullah Lak.
The opposition hailed Speaker’s efforts to convene budget session and run the house in a befitting manner.
The Business Advisory Committee unanimously decided that the business of the budget session in the house will be run as per the SOPs and the treasury and opposition will abide by the SOPs.
The opposition members led by Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz Sharif had set aside all coronavirus SOPs during the budget session last Monday and got together in huddle to record their protest which endangered the safety of all. The meeting decided that the general debate on the Annual Budget 2020-21 and the Supplementary Budget 2019-20 will continue for four days and all members will be given five minutes each to take part in the discussion. June 18, 19, 22 and 23 have been fixed for general discussion on budget.
It was decided that cut motions relating to Education, Health, Agriculture, Food, Local Government and Home departments will be presented during the session. The Speaker asked the Parliamentary leaders of all political parties to give the names of their MPAs, who wanted to take part in the budget debate, to the Secretary PA by June 18.
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi called upon the opposition to submit cut motions in the Finance Bill 2020 so that these could be discussed during the ongoing session, while he fixed June 24 and June 25 for the cut motions to be taken up.
The Finance Bill will be taken up for discussion on June 26 (Friday) while general discussion on Supplementary Budget 2019-20 will be on June 29 (Monday).
The discussion and voting on supplementary grants will be held on June 30 (Tuesday).