Deputy speaker joins PPP MPAs in taunting Opposition

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly, Shehla Raza, repeatedly sided with the ruling PPP’s MPAs against the Opposition parties legislators on Thursday and also taunted the latter accusing them doing anything for attracting favourable media coverage.

The deputy speaker, which is supposed to remain neutral during the Assembly session, sided with the treasury and scorned the opposition to discourage them when they raised public issues. Shehla Raza, who was chairing the sitting in the absence of Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, again clashed with the opposition members.

First she rebuked and barred Khurrum Sher Zaman Khan of the PTI from asking questions and later threatened MQM’s Muhammad Hussain to throw him out if he continued to argue with her anymore. She also called sergeant-at-arms to take him out of the house. However, he went out himself.

The house remained disturbed, as the chair didn’t attempt to facilitate the proceedings.

“You are worried as how to concoct a question and how to appear on TV,” she taunted Khurrum Sher Zaman Khan, after he questioned the treasury as how jobs are being given to people on fake domiciles. After exchange of some irrelevant words, deputy speaker turned off his microphone to gag him.

“My question is yet to come as it is not completed,” Khurrum told the chair, but she ordered him to sit down saying his question was completed. During the argument, Sindh Senior Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Nisar Khuhro taunted the opposition member saying “everything is being made to appear on media.” Shehla Raza threatened the PTI legislator with a severe action, if the latter kept standing up.

Muhammad Hussain of the MQM-P also stood up and said it was not a good sign that deputy speaker continued threatening the opposition with actions. He said what she was saying was wrong. Then, he remonstrated saying what the deputy speaker was saying she couldn’t do that. As the heated arguments prolonged, she angrily ordered the assembly guards to throw him out of the house.

But, before they could reach he had left the floor. Despite efforts by Opposition Leader, Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan of the MQM-P to pacify the situation, the deputy speaker showed no sympathy to bring the house in order or change her sledgehammer attitude. “I will not let him stay in the house,” she ruled.

However, the house also adopted a resolution on the World Women’s Day and paid tributes to Fatima Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto and other female personalities for their contribution to the society. The resolution was moved by PPP’s Sara Shahliani, MQM’s Rana Ansar and Bilquis, PML-N’s Surath Thebo, PTI’s Dr Seema Zia and PML-F’s parliamentary leader, Nand Kumar. Legislators from ruling and opposition parties spoke on the resolution.

Consideration of ‘The Sindh Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill 2018’ was again postponed till next sitting. Now, the bill is likely to be adopted on Friday (today).