A visibly perturbed opposition, which strongly condemned passage of 11 ordinances, on Friday submitted a resolution for no-confidence against Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri under the Article 53(7)(c) of the Constitution.
On Thursday last, Suri allowed the passage of 11 ordinances in haste without giving opportunity to the lawmakers to hold a proper debate on them. He paid no heed to the MNAs belonging to all main opposition parties to speak on the ordinances who tore up the copies of the ordinances into pieces in protest.
After the session was adjourned on Friday, the opposition leaders submitted a resolution for no-confidence, which states that Suri "violated the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, 2007 and lost the confidence of the majority of the House".
The Article 53(7)(c) of the Constitution says: "The office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall become vacant if he is removed from office by a resolution of the Assembly, of which not less than seven days' notice has been given and which is passed by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the Assembly."
A motion was also submitted under Rule 12 (removal of the speaker or the deputy speaker) of the Rules and Procedure and Conduct of Business, 2007.
Murtaza Javed Abbsi and Mohsin Ranjha of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) submitted the no-confidence motion resolution and notice at the office of Secretary National Assembly.
In the resolution, the opposition has pointed out violation of rules by the deputy speaker. They have also given references of rules' violation by Suri on different occasions.
The resolution will be made part of the National Assembly's agenda after seven days of its submission.
Terming the government's disposition to pass ordinances as "ordinance-gardi", Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Parliamentary Leader in Senate, Sherry Rehman told reporters that only the government's ordinance factory was working in full swing in the country right now, while all other businesses were shutting down due to its disastrous economic management.
"None of these ordinances are being laid in the Upper House because the government is quite evidently intimidated by the opposition's majority there," she added.
She said, "Yesterday the National Assembly was stripped of all rights to debate bills, bypassing standing committees and rules. Ordinances are being laid in the National Assembly but not being brought to the Senate. Eleven ordinances were passed within a matter of minutes shunning debate from the opposition. It indeed is a black day for the Parliament when controversial laws like the Medical Tribunal Bill and Medical Commission Ordinance are passed through the National Assembly along several others."
"The opposition called a requisition to discuss some of the most significant issues and give voice to the concerns of the people who are suffering because of them but neither the ministers nor the federal secretaries care to be present in the houses to at least note down the concerns. The sanctity of the Parliament is being violated at every step and needs to be restored. Every other session of the Parliament is marked by protests from the opposition over this outrageously undemocratic behavior but the government is impervious to criticism, whether inside the Parliament or out on the streets," fumed Rehman.
"The government is taking unconstitutional steps. Its PMDC Ordinance is in clear violation of the Supreme Court which said there would be no legal justification of an ordinance if the Senate and the National Assembly disapproved it. The ordinance has made hundreds jobless overnight. Everyone is asking the same question if this is the change which they [PTI] promised with us," she questioned.
Other lawmakers belonging to opposition also decried the passage of the ordinances by the government without allowing the members to speak on them.
They said that running the house in such a manner is in no way acceptable, as the dictators like Gen Pervez Musharraf never did this during his eight years iron-fist rule on the country.
They questioned if the ordinances are issued by democratically elected government, what is the use of holding election and causing billions of rupees loss to the national kitty.
Talking to journalists, Senator Rehman Malik of PPP said that Azadi March would not have any impact on the government.
"It won't make any difference...the government could have been in trouble if it had been at D-Chowk. Hopefully the issue will be resolved through talks," he added.
About Kartarpur Corridor which is going to be opened on Saturday (today), he said was a good step in the right direction and the government fulfilled its responsibility by opening it for the Sikh community.
"Now the time has come that the government should also facilitate the Sikh pilgrims in Occupied Kashmir. Narendra Modi [the Indian prime minister] should give visas to the Hindu community in Pakistan so that they can visit their holy places in India," he proposed.
The incarcerated MNAs of PPP and PML-N-Asif Zardari, Khursheed Shah, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi - did not attend the session despite their production orders were issued by the Speaker National Assembly.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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