Opposition disappoints House

LAHORE
The Opposition in Punjab Assembly here Tuesday disappointed the House with poor attendance and lack of relevant criticism on the government’s policies in the post-budget 2015-16 discussions.
Public Accounts Committee report was also presented to the House.
The session resumed with a low number of MPAs present and only Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha on the cabinet bench. Contrary to expectations, the opposition was present in dismal numbers and many members from PTI, PML-Q, and PPP on the list of speakers were absent to record their recommendations and criticism of the Punjab Annual Budget 2015-16.
PML-Q MPA Ahmed Shah Kagga opening the second day of the four-day budget discussion period complained that there was no college for girls in his Constituency PP-229 in Pakpattan and demanded concrete measures to address the concerns of parents.
He drew attention to the poor state of farmers in the province due to insufficient prices for wheat, rice, and potato. He complained that there was contaminated water for drinking in Pakpattan and the government had not fulfilled the purchase of wheat.
Meanwhile, paying tribute to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, PML-N MPA Munawar Ghous enumerated the accomplishments of the government including metro bus services for three lakh passengers, Rs11 billion for Saaf Paani Project in Budget 2015-16, health insurance for the poor, rural roads programme, biothermal power plant in Multan, technical institutes for two million jobs, counter-terrorism police force, and a Kidney and Liver Institute in the province. He made special mention of the funds allotted under the current budget for families of martyred army servicemen and paid a tribute to the sacrifices of those killed in the war against terror.
PML-N MPA Amjad Ali Javed commended the government for allocating 27 percent of the Annual Development Budget for education in Punjab and lauded the Finance Minister for her sophisticated demeanor in the face of rowdy opposition last Friday. He recommended that medical colleges and teaching hospitals be established in remote underdeveloped districts under the new budget, lessening of burden on government teacher schools, and health be given a priority in the upcoming year. Deviating from praise of the Punjab government, he criticised the budget for enforcing a tax on domestic and international travel.
PML-N MPA Lubna Faisal, the first female speaker on the list, appreciated that a woman member had been given the honour of presenting the budget as Punjab’s first female Finance Minister and urged that women should be given special attention in technical education programmes.
PML-Q MPA Dr Muhammad Afzal from Bahawalpur scrutinised the government for the poor electricity generation of 30 megawatts in one month only by the coveted Bahawalpur Solar Power Park despite costing the taxpayer Rs150 billion.
He regretted that the electricity generated was being transferred to the national grid before benefiting the South
Punjab region. He complained that Rs2 billion project by CM Shahbaz Sharif to develop Cholistan desert had not been started and hospitals set up by the government were not fully functional. PML-N Chaudhry Asadullah Arain recommended that work on constructing a new MPAs hostel for Punjab be started. Making recommendations, PML-N MPA Rana Muhammad Afzal called for greater government attention to flood-affected areas around Sialkot especially ahead of the monsoon and subsidies for pesticides and fertilizers in the province.
The lackluster assembly session later witnessed a confrontation between JI MPA Dr Syed Waseem Akhter and PML-N MPA Azma Zahid Bokhari after Akhter termed the Punjab Annual Budget ‘Zanana” due to being prepared by a female Finance Minister. Waseem Akhter in his speech repeated his earlier demands for stronger parliamentary standing committees and less involvement of bureaucrats in budget preparation in addition to announcement of District Finance Commission award.
PML-N MPA Azma Zahid Bokhari focused on the PTI government in KP and their lapses in budget spending which she claimed was up to 70 percent. The House will resume today (Wednesday).