Govt fails to unveil budget during Punjab Assembly session

For the first time in history, the budget of Punjab for the next financial year could not be presented on its due date due to mutual rivalry between the government and the opposition. Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi adjourned the budget meeting till 1 pm today.

Due to continuous protests by the opposition and government benches against each other, the budget meeting which was delayed for several hours was adjourned without any action.

June 13 will be remembered as the darkest day in the history of Punjab. According to sources, the government refused to bring IG Punjab and Chief Secretary Punjab into the house, on which the Speaker Punjab Assembly did not allow the presentation of the budget and adjourned the sitting till one o’clock this afternoon.

According to the details, the meeting to be held on Monday, June 13 was postponed without the presentation of the budget. The meeting was adjourned due to non-attendance of IG Punjab and chief secretary. The night started but could not be completed.

The budget meeting was delayed due to the presence of the first provincial minister Ataullah Tarar in the house. The government took the position that the provincial minister could be a part of the House for six months while the opposition as a member, he kept demanding to leave the House.

Opposition Coalition Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi asked Ataullah Tarar to leave the House, on which PML-N government members came forward to defend him.

Ataullah Tarar stood firm on the order of Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervez Elahi to leave the House and refused to leave the house.

Despite the persuasion of the government members, Ata Tarar did not leave the house, on which the government members requested the Speaker to adjourn the sitting for 10 minutes.

Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi adjourned the sitting for 10 minutes to allow Ata Tarar to leave the house.

The session which was adjourned for ten minutes resumed with a delay of one hour and Ataullah Tarar had to walk out of the House under the rolling of the Speaker.

After the departure of Provincial Minister Ataullah Tarar from the House, a meeting of the Punjab Assembly was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. Speaker Pervez Elahi asked where is the Chief Minister of Punjab? The IG and Chief Secretary should also be in the Punjab Assembly.

Provincial Minister Malik Ahmad Khan said that Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz will be in the House soon. Speaker Punjab Assembly gave another rolling call that IG and Chief Secretary should also be in Punjab Assembly. ۔

On this, Owais Leghari asked what the budget meeting has to do with IG and Chief Secretary. The IG and the Chief Secretary must be present when the budget is presented.

He said that you have seated the Chief Secretary and IG in a dolly, do not put them in a dolly.

Earlier, when the budget session of the Punjab Assembly began under the chairmanship of Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Chaudhry Zaheer-ud-Din raised an objection on the presence of Ataullah Tarar in the House.

The Speaker Punjab Assembly gave a rolling call that Ataullah Tarar should be left out with dignity. Unless Ata Tarar leaves, there will be no conducive environment for Hamza Shahbaz. I will not allow anyone to present the budget. PML-N members around Ata Tarar Gathered, on the orders of the Speaker, Sergeant at Arms reached to remove Ataullah Tarar from the House.

After the departure of Ataullah Tarar, the Speaker asked why the IG and the Chief Secretary have not come yet. Punjab Chief Minister has not come yet?

Provincial Law Minister Malik Mohammad Ahmad Khan said that the Chief Minister himself will look into the matter and will take action if anyone is being abused. I myself have seen the police beating Yasmeen Rashid with sticks, so request I am here, we are here, you complain, we are listening, you do not raise slogans, if there is any complaint, do it, it is the government’s job to listen to the complaint.

On this, Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said that Malik Ahmad Khan Sahib should call the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and IG, only when they come, the budget meeting will be held.

Mian Aslam Iqbal said that what constitutional work did the government do by bringing police in the house?

The Speaker of the Assembly said that Malik Sahib was repeatedly requesting you to bring the Chief Minister.

Finally, at 10:30 pm, the Chief Minister entered the Punjab House, to which former Provincial Minister Yasmeen Rashid pointed out that the Chief Secretary and the IG did not come.

The Speaker asked that the Chief Secretary and the IG are so powerful that they do not respond to repeated calls. The Speaker gave a rolling motion that if the Chief Secretary and the IG would come, the budget would not be presented.

Malik Ahmad Khan said that when the Chief Minister has come, what is the need of Chief Secretary and IG.

On this the Speaker said how many times I have said that IG and Chief Secretary should be called in the House. If the IG Chief Secretary does not come, I will adjourn the meeting till one o’clock tomorrow afternoon.

On which the government leaders continued to understand the speaker but did not accept the speaker and thus 120 million people got a glimpse of the politics of the province government and opposition. For the first time in the history of Punjab, without presenting the budget, the meeting was adjourned till 1 pm today, June 14.