ISLAMABAD: What appeared to be an embarrassment for the upper house of the parliament, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar did not show up at the budget session on Monday as the Senate concluded its debate on the new federal budget.
Different senators from the treasury side and opposition benches had demanded throughout the 330th session that finance minister, who is also a senator, attend the Senate budget session to brief the house on the Finance Bill 2023.
However, Dar, who briefly appeared in the Senate session on June 9, when he laid a copy of the Finance Bill 2023 in the house, did not show up at Senate during the entire Senate session, thereafter.
Debate in National Assembly: GDA assails govt over budget
Instead, the government’s side was represented by Finance State Minister Aisha Ghaus Pasha on the last day.
Last June, when the federal budget for the outgoing financial year 2022-23 was presented, the then Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also skipped the entire Senate session after laying the money bill’s copy in the maiden sitting of the budget session.
Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue Saleem Mandviwalla presented the panel’s report in the house on Monday—containing committee recommendations to the new federal budget.
The upper house of the parliament can hold extensive debate on the finance bill and devise recommendations accordingly, but it has no significant role in budgetary legislation since it is completely up to the National Assembly to either completely or partially accept those recommendations or reject them—partially or completely.
Article 73 of the constitution, which deals with parliamentary business with respect to money bills, reads, “Notwithstanding anything contained in Article 70, a money bill shall originate in the National Assembly: Provided that simultaneously when a money bill, including the finance bill containing the annual budget statement, is presented in the National Assembly, a copy thereof shall be transmitted to the Senate which may, within 14 days, make recommendations thereon to the National Assembly.”
Apart from that, faced with massive criticism over the passage of three recent private bills last week that aimed at heftily increasing the salaries and perks of the chairman and deputy chairman Senate as well as all others senators, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani claimed in the Senate session that increasing the perks and privileges of the senators would “not cost anything to the national exchequer—not even a penny.”
On Friday, the three private bills passed by the house were; Chairman Senate (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Bill 2023, Deputy Chairman Senate (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Bill 2023 and Members of Senate (Salaries and Allowances) Bill 2023—each bill moved by Kauda Babar.
The passage of Chairman Senate (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Bill 2023 raised eyebrows given that the bill allowed the chairman Senate, even after retirement, to be entitled to 12 personal staff members, 10 security personnel and a vehicle for the security staff— allegedly on the taxpayers’ money. The bill also entitled the Senate chief a house rent of 250,000 rupees monthly. The bill further entitled the Senate chief’s family members free treatment at private hospitals and free foreign trips.
In an apparent bid to respond to this criticism, Sanjrani commented on the floor of the house, addressing the senators, “The MPAs who are your constituents—they get salaries between Rs 400,000 and Rs 500,000 per lawmaker. And what do you get? Only Rs 160,000—the senators have to deal with issues concerning the entire country—first their own conditions need to be improved.”
The Senate was prorogued.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023