Debate on budget continues in Lower House
Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
Muslim League-N leader and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday apologised for his remarks on vice chancellors of universities in his budget speech while the speaker expunged the words.
At the outset of the National Assembly session, Asif tendered apology for calling the vice chancellors “robbers” during the budget speech. He said that he seek apology for using this word about the vice chancellor. “I request that the word be expunged from the assembly proceedings as well,” he added. The minister said that he respected educational institutions and teachers.
He admitted that corruption has become a tradition in our country. There is more politics in educational institutions than this House. “In my speech, I was talking about rampant corruption in every field of life. I was talking about it,” Asif said.
In his remarks, Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf said that he was not in the House when he spoke.
“I did not hear your speech myself. I came to know about it from news published in newspapers. I expunge the word and request all members to carefully select words while speaking on the floor of the House,” he maintained. The speaker appreciated Asif for tendering apology to vice chancellors.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly is continuing discussion on the budget for the year 2023-24.
At the outset, the House prayed to Allah Almighty to keep all the Muslims safe from all accidents and tragedies including natural disasters.
Later, taking part in the discussion, Romina Khurshid Alam said the government has presented a people centric and forward thinking budget while keeping in mind both the short and long term measures. Alluding to the challenges faced by the country, she stressed that more resources should be allocated to deal with the issue of climate change. She said there is also a need to encourage the farmers to shift to smart farming in order to enhance the productivity of the agriculture sector.
Ghulam Mustafa Shah emphasized accelerating the reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the flood affected areas.
Minister of State for Finance Ayesha Ghous Pasha said the federal government has fully supported rescue, relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood affected areas.
