LAHORE: Political crisis in Punjab deepened as two sessions of the Punjab Assembly have been summoned on Wednesday (today) to pass the budget.
The provincial government has been unable to pass the budget for fiscal year 2022-23 for the past two days amid deadlock between the PML-N and opposition parties notably the PTI.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has summoned the budget session on Wednesday at 1 PM, while Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman convened the session in Aiwan-e-Iqbal at 3 PM.
Pervaiz Elahi asserted that convening provincial assembly session in Aiwan-e-Iqbal is ‘illegal’ and the session cannot be held in another building. Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Tuesday, Pervaiz Elahi said the provincial government was asked several times to present the budget.
Elahi said that the PML-N lawmakers were claiming that Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz will come to the assembly but wasted time. He noted that the Governor must inform the Assembly Secretary before convening a session. He also said that Deputy Speaker cannot preside over a session when Speaker is present.
“The Governor should first contact Assembly Secretary before dismissing a session and the latter issues a gazette notification as per the rules and regulations,” the speaker said.
MPA Raja Basharat said rules and regulations to convene and dismiss a session must be followed. He said the session was adjourned without official notification. He also condemned convening a session at Aiwan-e-Iqbal.
On Tuesday, the Punjab Assembly session began after a record delay of around eight and a half hours. The deadlock between the speaker and government continued over the issue of IGP and the chief secretary whom Elahi had directed to appear before the House.
The speaker had asked the IGP and chief secretary to apologise for the arrest of political workers and withdraw cases against them. The Punjab government did not present both the officials before the House and the deadlock continued for hours.
In the session to be held at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal, PML-N MPA Awais Leghari will present the budget 2022-23 while Elahi will convene a session the provincial assembly.
