The Sindh Assembly on Friday passed through a majority vote the provincial budget of Rs3.056 trillion for the upcoming financial year 2024-25.
The opposition legislators in the house didn’t vote in favour of the budget. Leader of the Opposition Ali Khurshidi, who belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, demanded that amendments proposed by the opposition legislators should be incorporated into the new finance bill.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the opposition legislators had 14 days to propose amendments to the provincial finance bill but that period had expired.
Upon rejection of their demand that the house should consider amendments proposed by them, the opposition legislators rose from their seats and resorted to a protest during the session. They tore copies of the finance bill and staged a walkout. Over 1,200 cut motions submitted by the MQM-P legislators were rejected by the house through a majority vote. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed opposition legislators didn’t submit any cut motion and remained seated in the house till the passage of the new budget.
One of the cut motions moved by opposition legislators pertained to purchasing new vehicles for the CM Secretariat. The CM maintained that new vehicles had not been purchased for the CM Secretariat for the past seven years, while the official vehicles under his use were 10 years old. He said his government would purchase new vehicles for the staff of the CM Secretariat.
While responding to a cut motion regarding the discretionary fund of the CM, Shah said the value of this fund was already less than the same fund of other provincial chief executives in the country. Meanwhile, the MQM-P legislators outside the Sindh Assembly protested against an acute water shortage and power loadshedding in Karachi amid unbearable weather conditions. They held placards containing slogans in favour of their demands. They also raised slogans urging the government to immediately fulfil the electricity and potable water needs of the residents of Karachi.
Talking to media persons, opposition leader Ali Khurshidi lamented their viewpoint regarding the new finance bill had been disregarded in the house. He lamented the move of the Sindh government to impose taxes on private healthcare and educational facilities.
He said his party hadn’t been hopeful about the new Sindh budget as it wouldn’t resolve the problems of people. He said the MQM-Pakistan would continue to raise its voice on genuine public issues.