Coalition partners clash over fund allocation Minister for Finance, MPAs stage a walk out on remarks
Coalition partners clash over fund allocation Minister for Finance, MPAs stage a walk out on remarks
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QUETTA: MPAs belonging to two partners of the Coalition Government clashed on the floor of the Balochistan Assembly over allocation of resources for their constituents.

QUETTA: MPAs belonging to two partners of the Coalition Government clashed on the floor of the Balochistan Assembly over allocation of resources for their constituents.

Following strong remarks from PMAP MPA, Ministers and MPAs belonging to the National Party staged a walk out from the Assembly proceedings on Sunday.

A team of senior members of the Assembly, including a Minister, brought back the National Party Ministers and MPA to the assembly and the Assembly sessions started again amid an uneasy environment.

The Balochistan Assembly started the general debate on the Provincial Budget and the floor was given to National Party MPA Khalid Lango who spoke against the alleged discrimination against his political constituents.

The trouble started when Khalid Langov questioned allocation of Rs three billion to one district of Qilla Abdullah of which the Planning and development Minister belonged.

Mir Khalid Lango congratulated the Minister for Planning and his Additional Chief Secretary, Planning and Development for serving their constituents by allocating generous amounts.

He said that the P&D Department is not belonging to Balochistan rather it belongs to Qilla Abdullah and Zhob saying that for the next fiscal year, Qilla Abdullah was giver an allocation of Rs 3 billion as development fund. He said he will not object to this allocation and demand equal share to other districts of Balochistan keeping all of them at par.

He said that the ACS development was so powerful that he had allocated Rs 300 fund for merely three police stations, Rs 300 million for small dams and separate allocation for roads. Two separate allocation of Rs 80 million and Rs 50 million had been made for the same localized area, Mir Khalid Lango exposed the unjust allocation of funds.

He said he had surrender Rs 22 million during the current fiscal year and it was a right expectation that the same fund should have been returned and spent in his constituency. He claimed that only Rs four million were allocated which he strongly deplored. He praised the vision of Late Samad Khan Achakzai who supported oppressed and suppressed and he did not spoke about the Pakhtuns alone.

Now his son is not talking about the Pakhtuns and he is more interested in Qilla Abdullah, his political constituency, Mr. Lango said.

The National Party MPA said that the Government had allocated Rs 650 million for the Residential College Loralai and only Rs 200 million for Residential College, Kalat. It is discrimination, Khalid Lango remarked. He complained that the Department off and on slashed the funds allocated for schools, cold storage and building a small dam. He said he made complaint with no avail.

The MPA from Kalat said that he is merely demanding rights of his political constituents and the Chief Minister should give a serious thinking on these demands before the budget is approved.

On this, PMAP MPA Liaquat Agha took up the floor and allegedly made some remarks which strongly resented by the Members from the National Party. There was an exchange of hot and bitter words among the Members of two coalition partners.

When the proceedings went out of control, the Speaker, Madam Raheela Durrani, closed the mikes. At this stage, the Provincial Finance Minister, Sardar Aslam Bizenjo, took the floor and launched frontal attack on the PMAP Minister for Planning and Development and his ACS.

He said that it is no democracy that a bureaucrats whisks away fund and get allocation of resources at his personal whim ignoring the entire house. If a public servant is so powerful, the chosen representatives of the people have no right to sit in the House.

Sardar Aslam Bizenjo had drawn the attention of the Chief Minister asking him to listen the point of view of other coalition partner and only one party should not be back.

Minister for Health, Mir Rehmat Baluch also took the floor and said it is deplorable that the Ministers and his functionaries are giving no right to dissent on budget and other issues.

He said that “we have offered sacrifices and came to the Assembly and opted for Parliamentary politics.” “We have faced difficult situation and after a struggle we have reached to the Assembly,” he added.

If our views are not listened, then where should we go,” he posed a question. He defended the stand of Mr. Lango as he spoke against none and merely presented his point of view.

On the remarks of Liaquat Agha, the entire team of the National Party MPAs staged a walk out from the assembly session.

Later, the Speaker asked Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, Mir Asim Kurd, Sarfraz Bugti and Mr. Manzoor Kakar to bring the NP MPAs and Minister back to house.

On their return, Mr. Rahim Ziaratwal took the floor and expressed his personal regrets on the remarks of Liaquat Agha.