ANWAR KHAN

KARACHI: The treasury on Monday passed ‘The Sindh Payment of Wages Bill, 2015’, with a majority’s vote, despite the opposition clamour in the Sindh Assembly session.

Bulldozing the opposition demands, the ruling PPP’s filed, treasury defended the bill’s passage solely without taking others on the board. The treasury also taunted the bigger opposition –MQM- with ‘waiting for a signal from outside’. It also alleged the MQM for damaging the Sindh’s interest.

The bill adoption came in sheer shouts by the opposition parties, whose lawmakers had gathered in front of Deputy Speaker’s chair, and tore copies of the draft and tossed them up in the air. Though the house unanimously adopted the bill’s clause II unanimously during one of the last sittings, the opposition wanted more deliberations on the draft before its legislation.

In reply to shouting protest, Sindh Senior Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Khuhro lambasted the MQM for its clamour and disorder in the house, saying “after Sunday’s big show, it [MQM] is doing everything in the house since it is incapable to do anything”.

He taunted the MQM that it had been acting on signals from outside but was not getting even one that caused them desperation. He said the MQM was not ‘serious’ towards resolutions of problems in Sindh. He said the Deputy Speaker had given a ruling under the assembly rule 256 and the adopted clause II could not be reviewed, unless the entire bill was presented again.

However, he defended the bill would help protect the workers’ rights. The opposition wanted the PPP government to take the federal government into confidence before the bill adoption. Calling the bill ‘very significant’, PTI’s Samar Ali Khan said “the federal government should be taken into confidence on the bill before its passage”.

Opposition leader, MQM’s legislator Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan asked the treasury “to write a letter to the federal government to know its views” on the bill. He said the unclear law could bar the Sindh’s officials to exercise their writ in areas falling under the federal government’s jurisdiction within the province. He urged the treasury to review its move to legislation. He said his party was not against the bill’s spirit.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro said that protecting the workers’ rights in the province was the provincial government’s responsibility. Replying to the opposition leader’s concerns, he said “it is possible by asking the federal government on its 37 administrative departments in the province on every issue”. The assembly is again sitting today.