LAHORE: On receiving a letter from the Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan regarding non-payment of TA/DA to opposition members of the assembly for not participating in the session, the Department of Law and Parliamentary Affairs has started formulating its opinion from various legal angles.
The Punjab Assembly is an independent body with its own rules of business which the law department does not deal with. The non-payment of TA/DA to opposition members by speaker Punjab Assembly is apparently an internal matter of the assembly. The sources said the law department will review the instructions issued in the rules of Punjab Assembly about TA/DA and see if the members of the assembly are eligible to receive TA/DA whether they participate in the session or not. Sources said the procedure for issuing TA/DA will also be sought from the Assembly Secretariat.
Sources said that it will have to be seen if a member of the assembly came, but did not participate in the assembly session and, as such, was eligible for TA/DA.
Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said that as Speaker, he has the power to suspend TA/DA of members. He said the opposition requisitioned this meeting itself. They came for a moment and boycotted the session. Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said that it was for the first time in the history of Punjab Assembly that the point of order of the opposition was given 10 rulings and the point of view of the opposition was accepted.
Speaker Punjab Assembly said that for the last five months, the entire government party has complained against him to the chief minister. He said he could not allow abusive language in the assembly. He said he called the opposition leader and conveyed to him that the abuse must be stopped.
