Grants for Cabinet Division: Government terms opposition's criticism unfair, unjustified

ISLAMABAD: The government has termed the opposition's criticism on demands of grants for the Cabinet Division as 'unfair and unjustified' saying instead of general criticism it would have been appropriate to raise specific points.

Winding up discussion on cut motion on the grant demands of Cabinet Division, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said during more than one hour debate on cut motion, Ahsan Iqbal has raised some points about horse trading, lack of vision and having no policy on Covid-19, agriculture and poverty alleviation.

He said it would have been better, if Ahsan Iqbal would have explained specifically about 'government's lack of performance', and on where it had lied. Can you give me a single example whether former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been three times prime minister and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which also ruled three times had ever taken a single notice against any worker, he questioned.

As soon as the sugar crisis came to the notice of prime minister, he immediately called inquiry, the FIA was demanding more time but the prime minister turned down their request and directed to submit report within one month, and subsequently ordered forensic audit.

The minister said the prime minister decided that no body would be spared, and the question would have been raised, if the government had spared any body or targeted anyone.

He said the opposition should have given credit to what the government had done as no one in the past tried to take action against the sugar sector.

The opposition criticism to the Ehsaas Programme is unfair, as more than 16 million people were disbursed Rs 12,000 each, he added.

Ali Muhammad Khan said the people had lost jobs, and the prime minister was trying to make everyone understand that full scale lockdown would have been catastrophic for the country as no country could afford full lockdown.

From the day one, if anybody was clear on coronavirus, it was the prime minister.

The country's export did not increase one percent on average during the five years of PML-N, he claimed.

On agriculture sector, he said the National Assembly committee had been doing well. He said after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the provinces' spending on agriculture sector declined by 60 percent. He said no one was blaming anybody about aviation, and the report was submitted report as it is to the House.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020