Sheer waste of public money: NA held no sitting but three ‘working’ days counted

ISLAMABAD: Three ‘working’ days of the National Assembly will be counted in its ongoing parliamentary year for the purpose of paying allowances and doling out other perks and privileges to its members despite the fact that no session was held at all. These payments are made and facilities provided only for attending sittings.

Late on Thursday evening, President Dr Arif Alvi summoned the new National Assembly session, as recommended by the government, to be held at 11am Friday. The attendance of members was so dismal that there was no quorum; just 86 MPs, a mere one-fourth of the total membership, were present in the session. Consequently, it was adjourned till Monday. As per the rules, Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be counted as working days of the National Assembly for which the members will be paid allowances and given other perks and privileges attached with their presence in the House.

Since decades, the parliamentary practice has been that a new session is called a couple of days before the appointed time of its start mainly to enable members coming from far-off areas to reach Islamabad on the day of the sitting.

However, the present dispensation’s style of working is a departure from the past. It usually calls the National Assembly just a few hours before its session is to begin. Not only opposition members but also ruling coalition MPs are often unable to make it to the Lower House of Parliament -- unless the government directs them to be present to take up some important legislation to take the opposition by surprise.

Generally, the government convenes the session at a very short notice to catch the opposition lawmakers unawares so that they are not able to reach Islamabad. It does so only when it wants to pass some law in haste and doesn’t desire any roadblocks from the opposition.

The plan this time too was to refer two controversial bills that introduce some 72 amendments in the Elections Act, 2017, which have been rejected by the Senate standing committee on parliamentary affairs, to a joint session of parliament for approval. They had been passed by the National Assembly on June 10. After their dismissal by the Senate panel, they could not be laid in the Upper House of Parliament for consideration. The government wants to directly take them to parliament where it is confident it will get them approved on the basis of its majority.

On the day of the rejection of the bills by the Senate panel, the cabinet ministers had announced that the government would present them in a joint session of the parliament. Since the decision of the standing committee was by a majority, which had been boycotted by ruling alliance members, the government has made no effort to sit with the opposition to sort out differences on electoral reforms. The stalemate persists, and nothing is being done to break it. Frequent opposition calls to the government to provide sufficient time to the members to enable them to attend the new session have not been heeded.

The summary to call the new session of the National Assembly or the Senate is sent to the president by the parliamentary affairs ministry only after the approval of the prime minister and following deliberations by the concerned government quarters. The president issues the summoning notification. Under Article 54 of the Constitution, there must be at least three sessions of the National Assembly every year, and not more than 120 days will intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. However, it is mandatory for the assembly to meet for not less than 130 working days each year. Working days include any day on which there is a joint sitting and any period, not exceeding two days, for which the assembly is adjourned. On a requisition signed by not less than one-fourth of the total membership of the assembly, the Speaker summons it to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit, within 14 days of the receipt of the requisition; and when he has done so, only he may prorogue it.

According to Article 55, if at any time during a sitting of the assembly, the attention of the person presiding is drawn to the fact that less than one-fourth of its total membership is present, he will either adjourn it or suspend the meeting until at least one-fourth of the membership turns up.