ISLAMABAD: Upset over allegations that the opposition favored the government in passing the controversial SBP bill, PPP Senator Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday announced his resignation as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
As the House resumed after a two-day break, Gilani was on his feet to announce that he had submitted his resignation to the party leadership as he no longer wanted to be the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
It is pertinent that he is among the eight opposition MLAs who were not present in the House when the SBP bill was voted on and it was passed. Amid taunts from the treasury side, some opposition lawmakers clarified their position on the 'critical day of the law'.
He insisted that there was a tradition of taking all parties into confidence before taking up an important agenda, furthermore, there was no Business Advisory Committee meeting to discuss the SBP Amendment Bill.
He regretted that the Bill was passed without sending it to the concerned Standing Committee for consideration and report. Gilani also criticized Senate Speaker Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on the occasion for facilitating the government by adjourning proceedings for 30 minutes, allowing him to ensure maximum attendance in the House when the government was short of members. .
When the House resumed after the break, they continued voting; the chair had to vote for the first time in view of the members' tie between the Treasury and the opposition. Addressing Sanjrani, he remarked, "As the custodian of the House, you should not have done this, as you have to keep both sides of the corridor together". He said the turncoat should teach him a lesson.
Senate President Sadiq Sanjrani said he is fair and neutral and does not require any tuition. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Yusuf Raza Gilani's resignation is just a drama. Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that Bilawal should resign instead.
The Leader of the House in the Senate, Dr Shahzad Wasim, strongly defended the chair's right to vote, saying it was strictly in accordance with the rules and then explained the chair, under the Rules of Procedure and Rule 240 of the Conduct of Business in the Senate, does. No vote except in case of tie.
He said that when there was a tie, it was right for the chair to turn its attention to the vote. He mocked the opposition by thanking those who voted in favor of the bill and refrained from voting.
JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmed argued that his privilege was violated as he was not allowed to move and explain his amendments under Rule 109 of the Rules. Then, he told Pakistan's founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah who founded the SBP and remarked, "You have sold Quaid-e-Pakistan under a shameful agreement with the IMF. In that you have made SBP Governor, Viceroy and IMF into another East India Company.
Taking the opportunity, ANP Senator Haji Hidayatullah condemned those who said that his party's Senator Umar Farooq Qasi had left the House before the vote and explained that he had voted against the bill when the SBP bill was passed. A motion for permission to relocate was presented. , However, later he had to leave his opposition to the bill without giving it in writing but did not.
At this juncture, PTI Senator Faisal Javed said that Yusuf Raza Gilani need not explain whether it was on purpose or not, his absence from the House served the national interest. He said that every success of Imran Khan has come under the spotlight among the opposition parties.
Dilawar Khan, leader of a six-member independent group of senators, said he was independent and had never attended any opposition meeting and voted for the SBP bill. “Leader of Opposition Yusuf Raza Gilani had invited me for consultation on the SBP Bill, but when he went to his chamber, he was not there. However, he said that Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz and Railways Minister Azam Swati met him and explained the features of the bill and persuaded him to vote for it.
He complained, “We are being fingered as if we were caught with a huge amount of heroin or hashish. The members of our group never attended any opposition party meeting including PPP, PMLN and JUIF and they have a distinct identity. On the issue, PMLN senator Saadia Abbasi said that Gilani was a respected man who had given up his prime ministership for the sake of rule of law and principles, and asked the PPP leadership not to accept his resignation as opposition leader. He said senators from all the main opposition parties were absent that day and added that the opposition should accept its responsibility.