- Gill terms Bilawal’s rejection of resignation as ‘political circus’
ISLAMABAD: Under immense pressure from the party lawmakers and leadership of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for skipping the crucial session of the Upper House of the Parliament last Friday, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday announced to step down as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
However, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari refused to accept Gilani’s resignation as the leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
The PPP chairman appreciated Gilani’s services and called them a ‘shining example’ for the democrats and said that the representatives of PPP hold themselves responsible.
Expressing regret over the role of chairman Senate in the passing of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill, 2021, Bilawal said that the chairman passed the bill “in connivance with the government.”
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill called this move a “political circus” in a tweet.
Taking a swipe at the PPP chairman, he said that Gilani did not participate in the voting at Bilawal’s request,” adding that, “the bill was passed with your help, so you will obviously reject his resignation”.
Gilani was among at least eight opposition senators who had skipped last Friday’s Senate session, which allowed the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-led government to narrowly manage to get the crucial State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill passed from the Upper House.
Gilani, however, did not elabourate what made him to step down as leader of the opposition. However, sources within the PPP told Pakistan Today that Gilani was under immense pressure from the party’s lawmakers and leadership for abstaining the Senate session last Friday which gave the government an opportunity to get the controversial law on SBP passed from Senate.
Several PPP Senators had also publicly criticised him and other lawmakers for abstaining the key session. A few outspoken members had also questioned Gilani’s loyalty to the party.
During his speech in the Senate, Gilani alleged that due procedure was not followed in the passage of the bill by the government.
He said that debate was not allowed on the important bill, adding that it is inappropriate to put the bill on the agenda in the dead of the night.
He lamented the fact that the agenda was not even referred to the relevant standing committee, adding that this was the democratic norm.
He said that the Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker were custodian of both the houses and their role should be neutral.
He said that he has submitted his resignation as the leader of the opposition to his party leadership and does not want to continue top lead the opposition benches in the Senate.
Taking the podium, Leader of the House Dr Shazad Waseem said that the government had nothing to do with the presence of the leader of the opposition in the Senate but is thankful to him for not attending the January 27 session.
He said that there is no restriction to bring any supplementary agenda in the House, adding that the argument of the opposition leader is not correct regarding the introduction of the bill.
He said that the Senate chairman, being the custodian of the House, should run the House as per the rules and using personal vote is his right.
He said that the House cannot be run by picking and choosing but as per the rules. He thanked all the senators for voting in favour of the bill and those who were not present in the House that day.
Taking part in the debate, Senator Faisal Javed Khan said that there is no need of explanation from the leader of the opposition as he did a great job to skip the Senate meeting on January 27.
He said that whenever Prime Minister Imran Khan got victory, the opposition parties were facing issues like division in Pakistan Democratic Movement.
Pakhtoonkhwa Mili Awami Party Senator Shafique Tareen said that he also missed the session due to his party-related activities in Quetta.
He said that he was conveyed about the session lately and it was not possible for him to return from Quetta and attend the meeting.
He said that he has been serving as senator for four years and his party is a part of the opposition.
Awami National Party Senator Haji Hidayatullah Khan said that his party was also criticised despite that the fact that two members of his party voted against the bill.
Senator Dilawar Khan said that he is not part of the government but the government requested his independent group for support in the passage of the bill, which they accepted in the best interest of the country.
Meanwhile, in a tweet, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that Gilani is an “honourable” man.
He said that it made more sense for PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari or co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to resign.
“The senior leaders of the PML-N and PPP are embarrassed and upset at the behaviour of their leadership,” he said, adding that the change in the attitude of the opposition parties is a welcome development.
