PPP lawmakers miffed at ‘not being consulted’ over budget

ISLAMABAD: The PPP parliamentarians from both the houses of parliament Tuesday expressed serious reservations about the federal government keeping them in the dark on the upcoming budget. Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari chaired the party parliamentarians meeting here at the Parliament House. According to sources, the members expressed serious reservations about the federal government for not taking them into confidence on the budget. They were of the opinion that relief should be given to the people in the budget. They said the PPP was supporting the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) for the sake of democracy, but the interests of the people could not be compromised.

Sources said the PPP parliamentarians complained that the government had not fulfilled its commitments made with their party. Bilawal re-convened the meeting of the parliamentary party on Wednesday (today) at 1:30pm and directed the party to contact the government on the budget proposals of PPP.

Talking with the media after the meeting, Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Secretary Information Shazia Marri, while responding to the questions of journalists, said the members had informed the chairman about the problems of their respective constituencies. She said they were accountable to the people.

“We are a political party; we have an ideology and a manifesto and we wanted to give our input in the light of that. Does this government want the PPP to protest? Does the government want us to express our displeasure on the floor of the National Assembly?” she said.