Calling her a 'drama queen,' the ruling PPP's legislators continued to disdain the opposition's outspoken lady lawmaker, Nusrat Sehar Abbasi, during the Sindh Assembly session on Friday.Â
Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza too had used a similar contemptuous tone against her when she had chaired the previous sitting.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was smirking while provincial minister Imdad Pitafi and legislator Taimur Talpur were scorning Abbasi by use of derogatory remarks.
The house witnessed chaotic situation twice; first, when Nusrat Abbasi began speaking on admissibility of her adjournment motion and second when Sindh Works and Services Minister Imdad Pitafi used a flirting tone inviting Nusrat Abbasi to his private chamber for 'reply' to her questions that brought loud laughter and hooting by Taimur Talpur evoking a tit-for-tat response from Abbasi who suggested: "call your mother and sister to your chamber."
Her retort virtually left Pitafi agape and also hastened him to tell the house that he could reply to her questions during next sitting if she did not like a talk in private.
Though the deputy speaker ruled his contemptuous sentence to be omitted from the assembly's proceedings, the MPAs mostly landlords belonging to the PPP continued to disdain her. Loud laughter was made to embarrass her. Chief Minister didn't rein in his party's members.
In fact, Pitafi is weak in English language hence he tried to avoid answering the question, saying that if she had not understood the written answer then he could read it to her in the private chamber. Then, in a contemptuous way he said again if she cannot understand the answer, then why did she ask the question?
Abbasi also asked: "For what the Assembly session is held if minister cannot reply the questions on the floor of the House." She also asked the house why the ruling PPP had such a contemptuous attitude to women. In the meantime, Taimur Talpur continued to interrupt the woman legislator by hooting and shouting. Finally, Pitafi took enough time to read out the answer in English.
Deputy speaker Shehla Raza denied PML-N's only lady lawmaker, Surath Thebo to speak in the house, although she had permitted PPP legislator, Ghulam Qadir Chandio to criticise Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his government.
Thebo had to leave the house in protest for being denied to express her views. Chandio made a robust effort to glorify his party's central leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
MQM's lady legislator, Rana Ansar voiced concerns over gas load-shedding in Hyderabad, saying that the public was facing immense problems from disrupted supply of gas.
"We cannot send children to schools on time due to suspension of gas supply," she said, adding that the PPP government should complaint to federal government against the 12 hours gas load-shedding in Hyderabad.
-Business RecorderÂ