ABDULLAH MUSTAFVI
It will be fair to say that the upper legislature successfully survived a lethal assault by rejecting ‘No Confidence’ motion, moved by the opposition alliance against chairman senate Sadiq Sanjarani, on the eve of 1 August . On the face of it , no confidence motion against chairman senate appeared as a constitutional step and a valid right of the opposition but unfortunately real motives behind this act were neither appreciable nor dignified.
A constitutional right once utilized in the highest legislature forum , for the removal of custodian of the same very house, should be justified by the sponsors with equally valid reasons and greater national objectives. No valid reasons could be brought forward by the sponsors in support of such a major move! Ruling benches tried hard to avert the motion amid obvious deficiency of numbers as compared to the opposition alliance which from the outset claimed victory by projecting 64 members in pocket. Sane minds rightly objected on the validity of this motion as merely having majority in number game is not enough to seek removal of a chairman of senate. There has to be more convincing reasons and greater objectives related to the well being of masses , strengthening of the political process and revival of parliamentary norms. Objections started surfacing upon validity of this unreasonable motion from with in the ranks and files of opposition alliance as many members felt embarrassed, in public and media, in justifying or defending this parliamentary conspiracy. PPP had no justification for targeting the chairman senate for whom its members voted in the past by making a behind the curtain undeclared alliance with PTI .
There have been no allegations of corruption , biased dealing , misconduct or any other form of ill practices against the chairman senate Sadiq Sanjrani. From the outset , intent behind no confidence motion was in sharp conflict with the spirit of democracy and universally acknowledged parliamentary norms. Though motion was floated and projected under the banner of opposition alliance but it was never a secret or mystery that actual ‘movers and shakers’ were PPP, PML-N , JUI-F and PKMAP. No rocket science is required to decipher that itch of electoral defeat and pain of ongoing accountability provided enough cement to strengthen the alliance between so called opposition . In reality , it is an alliance between the beneficiaries of past corrupt political system . Deprivation from perks and privileges of status-quo is hard to bear for leadership of PPP, PML-N and JUI-F. It is highly condemnable to utilize the sacred floor of senate for political black mailing by manipulating with in the constitutional provisions. Before removing sitting chairman senate , senator Hasil Bezanjo was nominated was nominated by opposition as their candidate. This nomination further weakened the case of opposition and snatched the slightest possible probability of any understandable justification.
Nominated candidate senator Hasil Bezanjo was objected by many opposition alliance senators for having weak credentials and dubious political groupings in the past. Eventually , no confidence motion met its fate in the form of a surprising rejection .
Opposition required 53 votes to remove the chairman senate! Opposition thought and claimed that it had the support of 64 members against the 36 members of ruling party alliance ; which meant a sure victory. To the surprise of all, only 50 members voted in favor of the motion , 45 voted against the motion whereas 5 votes were rejected . Though , the motion failed by 3 votes however the injury of defeat came to opposition with the shocking insult of loosing support of 14 members . On the other hand , while surviving the lethal motion , ruling alliance got 45 votes which are though 5 numbers short of opposition but it was even encouraging as they finished up with 9 more numbers against the confirmed estimate of 36. It is obvious that opposition conspired to de-stabilize the political system through vindictive manipulation of constitutional means.
Good part of this worst political episode appeared in its end which marked a decisive defeat for political black mailers and beneficiaries of past corrupt culture. This no confidence motion was not brought on the floor of parliament for any good reasons . It was a dirty move to safeguard the interests of corrupt mafias who are in habit of manipulating the system , law and constitution for their vested interests. Presence of such ill intended elements in top legislative forums indicates the depth of cancer in political system. However , defeat of corrupt mafia at the sacred floor of senate is a pleasant sign and a good omen of change on political canvas. Nation can take of sigh of relief that finally a reasonable number of worthy senators opted to vote by listening to their conscious and dared to reject the manipulative dirty maneuvering of rejected and corrupt party leadership. It is rightly expected that political system and parliamentary practices will gain further strength and stability after this historic defeat of political black mailers.
