MPs protest notices: Separate seats yet to be notified

LAHORE, Feb 23: The Punjab Assembly secretariat has yet to notify allocation of separate seats for the group of disgruntled PML-Q MPAs, known as Unification Bloc, while the party's parliamentary leader has issued show-cause notices to some of his (disgruntled) colleagues for forming a 'new' party by seeking separate seats and a parliamentary leader of their own. An official of the assembly secretariat told Dawn on Wednesday that agreeing with the submission of Unification Bloc leader Dr Tahir Ali Javed, Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal had decided to allocate its members separate seats. Dr Javed was informed in writing about the positive action on his application but the speaker did not direct the secretariat to circulate the act as a notification. Neither the speaker nor Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan was available for comments. Dr Javed, however, is hopeful that the secretariat will at least issue the diagram containing house seating plan before the next session likely to be convened in the second week of March. He was not sure about the location of his colleagues in the seating plan but a source in the secretariat said they would be seated between the PML-N and PPP members (on treasury benches). It also hints at the fact that the PPP will be pushed towards the opposition benches and that now senior minister in the provincial cabinet Raja Riaz will become a claimant for the slot of opposition leader instead of Dr Javed. An official of the Punjab Law Department, who had been part of the decision making for taking care of legal aspects regarding the Unification Bloc, said the government had been told that the issue would ultimately land and be settled in courts and that there were only 50 per cent chances of emerging as winner in the litigation. But, even then the authorities decided to go for the option, he added. The official claimed that Speaker Rana Iqbal was not in favour of granting separate identity to the Bloc for fear of losing face in court but he had to act under party (PML-N) pressure. Meanwhile, Dr Javed says unlike in the past when they had responded to the show-cause notices two years ago, they are not going to reply to the notices. "How can a person representing only 32 MPAs seek explanation from those enjoying support of 47 out of a total of 87 party members?" he questions. The notices are also illegal and unjustified as they (Unification Bloc MPAs) have violated no legal provisions by seeking separate identity, he argues. "We've neither given vote of confidence to the chief minister nor cast vote for the budget, then what for we are being given show-cause notices." The Bloc leader claims that the notices are in fact an attempt to pre-empt further dents in the Q-League as at least three more MPAs are likely to join the disgruntled group.