LAHORE: The constitutional crisis in Punjab refuses to go away as two separate budget sessions of Punjab Assembly have been summoned. PA Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has summoned a session at 1pm while the Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman has summoned a separate session at 3.pm.

The session of the Punjab Assembly to present budget 2022-23 was initially scheduled for Monday (yesterday) but it was postponed as the deadlock between opposition and the government persisted.

Members of the opposition will participate in the session summoned by Punjab Assembly speaker in Punjab Assembly’s building while the members of the ruling party will meet at Aiwan-e-Iqbal for the budget session.

The members of the ruling party said that the session convened by the Punjab governor was constitutional and that he had convened the session to fulfill his constitutional obligations. They said that the opposition members could join the meeting at Aiwan-e-Iqbal but for that they would have to delcare the session called by the governor illegal.

Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari, who was with the PTI but has unofficially joined the opposition, will chair the session convened by the Punjab governor. Punjab government spokesperson Ataullah Tarar will also attend the session, a day after his uncouth gesture on being was told by the speaker to leave the session.

Meanwhile, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat criticised the government over summoning a separate budget session. He said that spectators had taken over the politics which would ruin the country’s poltics.

He urged the ruling party members to join the budget session summoned by speaker Punjab Assembly and protect their powers.

The Punjab Assembly session was scheduled on Monday to present the budget for the next fiscal year and was stopped as the speaker objected to the presence of Tarar.

The session was then adjourned after the clash between members of the treasury and opposition with the PA speaker demanding that the chief secretary and Punjab IG appear before the house.