BY taking action against the lawmakers including those belonging to the PTI involved in the indecent language and behaviour in the National Assembly session on Tuesday, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser has set a good precedence of impartiality.
He has banned seven lawmakers including three of the PTI from entering the House for creating ruckus and using filthy language against each other.
Though the Speaker represents no political party and is considered neutral, yet there is no precedence where the chair would have acted in such a just manner, sparing neither the treasury nor the opposition members.
Indeed such an action on the part of the Speaker was need of the hour in order to take matters in the Lower House towards normalcy which is witnessing pandemonium ever since the budget debate began on Monday.
Responsibility rests with both the treasury and opposition benches to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament but both are lagging to demonstrate maturity.
The leader of the opposition is yet to conclude his budget speech which he began at the start of the week due to disruption caused by the squabbling amongst the lawmakers.
The kind of language that these parliamentarians used in Tuesday session and how the women members were hit with budget copies embarrassed the whole nation.
The people send the representatives to Parliament not to act as gangsters but do legislation for their welfare and speak for their rights. But here the story is totally different as they are more engaged in degrading each other.
Instead of taking the matters towards worst, it is important that the treasury and opposition members sit together and evolve a strategy to ensure uninterrupted budget speeches.
The speaker very rightly has also proposed constitution of a parliamentary committee to decide rules for running business of the House in an amicable and cordial environment. Asad Qaiser indeed is soft spoken and humble personality.
He has always tried to take along both sides of the aisle. There is no justification, at least for the moment, for the opposition to move a no confidence motion against the sitting Speaker who has forthrightly fulfilled his parliamentary responsibilities. This will only further ratchet up the political temperature.
It will be better for the opposition to rather focus on the budget discussion and give concrete suggestions for the benefit of the common man.
It is also for the treasury benches not to make the matters difficult for the Speaker and give patient hearing to the opposition members.
