The Acting Speaker NWFP Assembly, Ikramullah Shahid has said that the prolonged adjournment of the session of provincial assembly by the Speaker, Bakht Jehan Khan had broken the privilege of the whole house against which he reserved the right to submit a privilege motion in the house.
While addressing press conference here at speaker's chamber on Monday, he said that it was a conspiracy against both deputy speaker and elected house. They wanted to take benefit of my emotions and create unwanted scenes in the house.
The deputy speaker said that according to the constitution in absence of speaker, deputy speaker was entitled to use the power and authority of the speaker, which did not require any dictation either from government or from speaker and there was no need for a deputy speaker to take oath in absence of speaker.
Ikramullah Shahid also read out rules of the assembly proceeding, according to which he said he even did not require any prior notice or period but could summon the session even on a short notice. He said that he had held a meeting with the heads of all parliamentary leaders of the opposition parties to review the situation.
The treasury benches were also invited through the Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Haji Muhammad Ayaz Khan but no member from the treasury benches bothered to attend the meeting.
The parliamentary leaders of the opposition parties including Abdul Akbar Khan of PPP-Parliamentarians, Bashir Ahamd Bilour (ANP), Qazi Muhammad Asad Khan (PML-Q), Anwar Kamal Khan Marwat (PML-N) and Syed Murid Kazim of PPP-Sherpao while Muzaffar Said, an MMA MPA from Lower Dir was present during the press conference.
The acting speaker said that for first time in the parliamentary history of the province, the session of the house had been adjourned for period from September 22 to October 5 in the pretext of the absence of the speaker.
He said that the purpose of the long adjournment was to prevent me from chairing the session. However, he said on investigation, I have came to know that the convening of the session would create unwanted situation, which would be against the parliamentary traditions of this house.
When asked about the presence of a precedent in past, when a former speaker, Hidayatullah Khan Chamkani had adjourned the proceedings of the house for one month, the deputy speaker said in that case the office of the deputy speaker was vacant.
Terming the decision of the speaker a no confidence in an elected deputy speaker, he dispelled the impression that the affairs of the house would not be run in the absence of a particular group. He said that the affairs of the house had no concern on some ones coming or going. However, he said that the contention of the Chief Minister, Akram Khan Durrani that the session had been adjourned with his consent had broken my privilege.
They deputy speaker of NWFP, who belong to Senator Maulana Sami-ul-Haq led JUI-S faction said that Durrani government had failed in providing justice to people, giving honour to elected MPAs and even implementation of the MMA manifesto in the province.
"No promise made with the electorates before elections has been fulfilled during last two years of government," he lamented.
When asked about the tabling of any no-confidence move on behalf of his group, known as 'Ehtisab' group, he said that their sole demand was the implementation of the manifesto of the MMA having no plan to bring any such move in the house.
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