By: Kishore Kumar Kiramani
The commotion that continued for the second day in a row in the current session of the National Assembly escalated when some members of the opposition and the ruling party got into a scuffle during Asad Umar’s speech and the turn came to bitter words and gossip. Several members fell in the stampede. The shoe was waved in the House. When the situation deteriorated, the Speaker called for security and took action in the custody of the sergeants. Despite this, the two sides continued to exchange harsh words. This situation arose in favor of and against the bill introduced in the Assembly in view of holding the Senate elections under the law of show of hands instead of secret ballot. However, this is not the first incident of tarnishing the image of the House which is undoubtedly the nation. It is a shame for us. The Senate is considered the most respected of all the houses of the country, the members of which are also elected by the elected public representatives, which doubles their responsibilities on the floor of Parliament. The opposition’s position on the Constitutional Amendment Bill is that the Adviser to the Government cannot sign a motion or present a motion in the House. According to Mian Raza Rabbani, the advisor is not the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs, so he is not authorized to sign. In favor of secret ballot
It is argued that members of the Provincial Assemblies, as voters, have the opportunity to express their views free from the coercion of the leadership of political parties, while the opposition has taken the position that this method of election is practically vote buying. In sales and market politics, there is an auction of conscience which promotes betrayal and corruption. Although these two views take precedence in their respective positions, in this regard the parties can more effectively fight with arguments instead of fighting on the floor of the Assembly. Can give feedback It is pertinent to mention here that elections will be held in 48 of the 52 seats of the Senate which will become vacant next month, while four seats in FATA will not be included in it, which will reduce the total number of seats from 104 to 100. The senators, who are likely to hold the remaining four seats in FATA, will retire in 2024, after which the eight FATA seats will be decided whether they will go to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or be equally divided among the provinces. On the other hand, there are 15 vacancies in the PML-N, seven in the PPP, seven in the PTI and five independent senators, while eight vacancies are for technocrats, nine for women and two for non-Muslims. It is an accepted fact that in a democracy, the institution of parliament plays a key role in running the business state. The members of the various political parties who are elected to the parliament by popular vote sit together to formulate basic policies and make laws. It is also the job of the parliament to make the constitution and to change or amend it as required. Dominates all other institutions. This status demands politeness, dignity and responsible behavior from its members. But call it a tragedy that even after 73 years of independence, our elected houses still lack polite democratic attitudes. The above-mentioned action of the National Assembly on open or secret ballot system, regardless of political differences or personal gain or loss, is of utmost importance to the Upper House, for which the parties have to show seriousness.