ISLAMABAD: The joint opposition, Wednesday, vowed to challenge the controversial bills in the Supreme Court passed by the government from the joint sitting of the parliament, and also indicated to bring a no-confidence motion against the National Assembly speaker for “bulldozing” the legislative process.

The joint opposition in the parliament, which staged a walkout from the joint sitting after lodging a strong protest over the legislation passed, particularly with regard to electronic voting machines (EVMs), the SBP Banking Services Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the right to review for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and others, the opposition leaders lambasted the government for “bulldozing” the entire procedure and termed it as “black day” in the country’s parliamentary history.

At a joint presser, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif, together with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) parliamentary leader in NA Asad Mahmood, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator Mohammad Mushtaq, and others strongly condemned Speaker Asad Qaiser’s “attitude” and stated that the joint opposition in its next meeting would mull over moving a no confidence motion against him.

The joint opposition also constituted a committee comprising PPP’s Farooq H Naek and JUI-F’s Kamran Murtaza and PML-N’s Ata Tarar for preparing recommendations to challenge the controversial legislations in the Supreme Court.

“The legislation was completely bulldozed and the speaker has trampled the parliamentary traditions. Legislation cannot take place in such an atmosphere as the opposition’s votes counted were far fewer than their actual numbers,” Shehbaz Sharif said, adding: “Today is the “black day” in our parliamentary history.”

He claimed that the rules for a joint session stated that the government needs 222 votes to pass a law, while there were only 212 members of the treasury benches when the bills were being passed, adding that the opposition had “enough” strength in the house.

He said that the opposition pointed out to the speaker by citing references from the rulers and Constitution to show that the government did not have the required number of votes to pass the amendments.

“But the speaker did not listen to us and they were bent on getting the bill for the use of EVMs, which I call it as “Evil Vicious Machine” and other bills passed,” Shehbaz maintained.

He said that the joint opposition also had approached the speaker during the session and told him about their reservations and objections.

“I told him that you are being unfair, that you had assured of not toeing the party line, but he did the opposite. He did not listen to us…Today, we saw a speaker-PTI nexus as we have seen the “NAB-Niazi” nexus in the past,” he further maintained, adding that during the session, he kept on asking the speaker to open his microphone, “but to no avail.”

He said that there are only eight countries in the world that had adopted the use of EVMs for elections and nine leading countries including Germany that had even rejected it. “Laws and rules were trampled today and consequently, we were compelled to leave the House in protest and come here to tell the nation how the government is playing with its fate in parliament,” he added.

He said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also rejected EVMs. “A rigged government has already been imposed and now they are imposing EVMs on the nation which would not be allowed whatsoever,” he maintained. He said that the joint opposition will move the court against the “undemocratic bulldozing” and violation of parliamentary rules and traditions.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also accused the government for bulldozing legislative process, adding that the joint opposition would approach every relevant forum to raise their voice against the move.

He maintained that the joint opposition has once again defeated the government in the joint session, adding that it was a win of the opposition and a defeat of the government, as the treasury was lacking the required numbers to pass the legislation from the joint session.

He said that the government set aside all parliamentary procedures and norms to show that it has succeeded.

He maintained that there are separate rules for a joint session of parliament and a normal session, adding that he tried to draw the attention of the treasury benches and the speaker towards rules pertaining to a joint session in the Constitution. According to the rules, he added that the government required more than half the votes of the combined strength of the two houses of parliament to pass a bill through a joint session.

“This means if there are 342 members in the NA and 100 in the Senate, the government needed at least 222 votes to get a bill passed through a joint session while the treasury was lacking the required number. If the treasury benches are unable to cross this number, no law is passed,” he further maintained.

“The opposition’s stance was that no laws were passed today, be it a law for the use of the EVMs, giving an NRO to Kulbhushan Jadhav or the SBP bill on IMF’s dictation,” he said, adding that the opposition would challenge these legislations in the apex court. He said that the opposition would also approach the ECP to present their point of view.

He also challenged the government, saying if it believes that the legislations were according to the law, “we will challenge them in the Supreme Court and at every other forum.”

Other opposition leaders, including the JUI-F’s Asad Mahmood, JI’s Mohammad Mushtaq, and ANP’s Amir Haider Khan Hoti also rejected the legislation passed by the joint session with one voice.

Earlier, in a letter addressed to the speaker before the joint session, the joint opposition stated: “The indecent haste with which the joint sitting of Parliament has been summoned placed the Speaker in a controversial position because you had assured the joint opposition of adherence to Parliamentary norms and precedents.”

They maintained: “The Speaker’s partisan conduct in handling these bills of national importance and the joint sitting of Parliament had removed our confidence in you as Custodian of the House. They, therefore, demanded that the Speaker should take immediate action to rectify the “egregious wrong” before joint sitting of parliament is convened.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021