LAHORE: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi won another vote of confidence in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday night when the lawmakers sitting on the treasury benches gave him confidence, the opposition boycotted the meeting by tearing copies of the agenda.
The provincial chief executive took the vote of confidence after the Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled that the governor has the power to ask the chief minister to take the confidence of the House even during the ongoing session.
The court earlier today said that the chief minister should have round-the-clock support of 186 legislators – the required number to be elected chief minister.
A total of 186 Members of Provincial Assembly (MPA) voted in favor of Elahi as Chief Minister on the resolution presented by Punjab Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Raja Basharat.
The opposition boycotted the meeting, claiming that the pre-requisite legal requirements were not fulfilled and the order of the Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman’s vote of confidence was under the jurisdiction of the judiciary.
Home Minister Rana Sanaullah – while talking to reporters outside the Assembly – said that some legislators from the treasury benches are not in the country, but still, the PTI claimed that their MPAs attended the meeting. So we will produce all their travel records and related documents in the court tomorrow.
The court granted relief to Chief Minister Elahi till January 12 (today), and will hear his plea against Subh Rehman’s de-notifying order in the morning.
After winning the confidence of the House, Elahi thanked the leaders of PTI, Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen (MWM) and MPA Bilawal Waraich for their support in today’s session.
The chief minister slammed the PML-N for its “decimation” and asked the party to accept defeat. I stand by Imran Khan’s vision and we have now confined the thieves to their homes.
The chief minister also thanked his legal team for proving that the governor’s orders to de-notify him were “illegal.” I thank Allah that I got 186 votes. Today, PML-N literally got a ‘surprise’ which they did not expect.
“There is only one leader: Imran Khan,” he asserted.
After the meeting, PTI senior vice-president Fawad Chaudhry said that if there is no obstacle to move forward, the party will move towards dissolving the assembly.
‘Our MPAs were tempted with money’
Addressing the party’s parliamentarians earlier today, PTI Chairman Imran Khan alleged that his party members and allies were threatened to join the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN).
“Our members were lured with money,” he claimed.
The ousted prime minister also claimed that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari could not go in public and that he had “come to Lahore for trade”, an apparent reference to Khan in relation to horse trading.
“I am proud of my members from Punjab. They have rejected Zardari and it was a total failure for them.
Khan added that Zardari should be thanked as he helped rid the party of black sheep.
Chaotic session continues for third day
Before the walkout of the opposition, there was a commotion in the assembly during the third consecutive session, members of the Muslim League (N) raised slogans against the ruling government in the province and at one point there was a scuffle among the members of the assembly.
Targeting Chief Minister Elahi, the opposition legislators chanted “take vote of confidence” and stood in front of Punjab Assembly Speaker Sabtain Khan’s dais.
“Take a vote of confidence today” the members continuously demanded after which the Speaker requested them to take their seats.
As the slogans were raised, the Speaker said that the opposition members should stand on their seats, your senior leadership is aware of your protest.
“I am saying for the 15th time, take your seats. Otherwise I will act according to the constitution,” he warned opposition lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raja Basharat tried to convince the opposition to calm down.
Legislators Mirza Javed, Aneza Fatima and Mian Rauf were requested to take their seats. While PTI members Sadia Sohail Rana, Seemabiya Tahir and Sania Kamran raised slogans against the opposition.
Punjab Assembly situation pic.twitter.com/2UZs9ogrKG
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) January 11, 2023
During the question break, Muslim League-N member Rahila Khadim Hussain refused to speak. “The governor has expressed no confidence in the chief minister,” he said, requesting the Assembly to take a vote of confidence before Chief Minister Elahi.
The speaker told them that the government would take a vote of confidence. He said that let the High Court decide.
“If they don’t take a vote of confidence, they won’t be in government,” Speaker Sabtain told the opposition to launch a no-confidence vote for the “decision”.
After that, the members present on the opposition benches raised slogans of “Dako, Dako” while mentioning Chief Minister Elahi.
When the call to prayer began, the speaker ordered the members to calm down. He said that the call to prayer is being given, fear Allah.
Political drama
The political turmoil in Punjab escalated last month when the ruling coalition at the Center decided to remove Chief Minister Elahi to prevent the dissolution of the assembly.
In an attempt to remove the chief minister, the governor – a member of the PML-N – had ordered the chief minister to take a vote of confidence at 4 pm on December 21.
But Punjab Assembly Speaker Sabatin – a PTI leader – declared the order unconstitutional and adjourned the ongoing session till Friday – which resumed today.
In response, the Governor disagreed with the Speaker and rejected his arguments for not calling the meeting. He further said that this decision has no effect on the order to hold the meeting for the vote of trust.
Subsequently, in a notification issued in the early hours of December 23, the governor de-notified Elahi as chief minister, citing his reluctance to take the vote of trust.
Rehman said that since he felt that Elahi did not command the confidence of the Punjab Assembly, he was de-notifying him as the chief minister and also dissolving the provincial cabinet.
But PTI and Muslim League (Q) alike rejected the notification and approached the Lahore High Court against it. After which the court reinstated Elahi and adjourned the hearing of the case till January 11.
When the request was made by the Lahore High Court on Wednesday, it said that the governor, during the ongoing session of the provincial assembly, had been empowered to fix a date for the chief minister to take the vote of confidence, which he was bound to comply with. will .
