PM Gilani Urges MNAs to Follow NAs Agenda

ISLAMABAD, News Trends: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani urged MNAs to follow the set procedure in the National Assembly, arguing it would not only save time but also put them in better position to represent wishes of the people.We have to make the Parliament more effective,” the Prime Minister said after some MNA’s raised Point of Orders to make their respective issues heard in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

Gilani said the house could take up more effectively the issues concerning public including price-hike, load-shedding if it ran according to procedure. It will enable the ministers to take questions regarding their responsibilities and reply accordingly.

“This (Parliament) is a debating forum; we’ll definitely sit with you and debate on whatever issues you like, may they relate to finance, economy, foreign policy or strategic dialogue,” the PM said.Gilani said it was well on record the current Parliament had carried out 442 unprecedented legislations with every single one being done unanimously. It wasn’t an easy task to make amendments in 101 -article Constitution; it’s for the first time ever in the history.

Prime Minister said if the legislators came up with something good for the interests of country, government was ever ready to listen and take actions as well. He asserted the Parliament was not redundant rather it was responsible to uphold the Constitution. It was our sole responsibility to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution.
He said abolishing of Concurrent List was part of the Constitution, and an implementation Committee had been formed with Senator Mian Raza Rabbi to be the Head.

Prime Minister said minorities, if they had apprehensions over Concurrent List, needed to meet Raza Rabbani for final settlement.

Four British Legislators Charged Over Expenses

British state prosecutors charged four legislators with false accounting over alleged abuses of the parliamentary expenses system.
The charges are the latest twist in a scandal over politicians’ expenses that have damaged Britain’s ruling Labour and opposition Conservative parties in the run-up to a general election that must take place by June. In four cases, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and that it is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned, said Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer in a statement. He named the four as Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, who are Labour members of the lower House of Commons, and Paul White, known as Lord Hanningfield, a Conservative member of the upper House of Lords. Morley is a former environment minister. He faces two charges of dishonest claims for mortgage expenses. Chaytor faces three charges of dishonest claims, while Devine faces two charges for making claims based on false invoices. The BBC reported that the three had issued a joint statement denying the charges and vowing to “defend our position robustly”. White faces six charges, centered on numerous claims for overnight expenses for staying in London when records show he was driven home and did not spend the night in London. He could not immediately be reached for comment. The four defendants are scheduled to appear in court on March 11. They face a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.

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Four British Legislators Charged Over Expenses was first posted on February 6, 2010 at 10:39 am.

MQM Legislators Rejoin SA’s Ongoing Session

TrendPK.com MQM Legislators Rejoin SA’s Ongoing Session:KARACHI  Following patching up of the differences between the two major political parties in Sindh Government due to overnight efforts by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the MQM legislators arrived at Sindh Assembly to attend the ongoing session.
Meanwhile, live coverage of Sindh Assembly proceedings by electronic media [...]

Kashmiri Legislators Protest on Autonomy Suggestion

Legislators of National Panthers Party, a regional political outfit of Indian Jammu and Kashmir, held a demonstration in the national capital New Delhi against the Working Groups recommendation on autonomy to the state on Friday.
A high level committee, appointed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, submitted its report to the state chief Omar Abdullah on Wednesday. The panel has recommended consideration of autonomy by the federal government for India’s only Muslim majority province, which has been battling insurgency for the past 20 years.
Protestors insisted that working group’s recommendation on autonomy to the state should not be applied, as it will end the jurisdiction of Supreme Court and election commission of India.
“The motive behind our protest is to spread this message that if this report (working Group’s recommendation on autonomy to the state) is applied then Supreme Court’s jurisdiction will end. If this report ends (is applied) then election Commission of India’s jurisdiction will end. If this is applied then in Jammu and Kashmir all the fundamental rights will end. It is because Jammu and Kashmir has different constitution and India’s constitution is not applicable there,” said Bhim Singh, Chairman of the National Panthers Party, a regional political outfit of Indian Jammu And Kashmir.
The PM’s group, headed by former Supreme Court judge S. Saghir Ahmad, has favored restoring autonomy to the Himalayan state as it enjoyed till 1952, after it acceded to India in 1947.
Kashmir’s ruling National Conference has been championing for autonomy since 2000 when it moved a resolution in the state Assembly to support the demand. The Assembly adopted the resolution.

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Kashmiri Legislators Protest on Autonomy Suggestion was first posted on January 2, 2010 at 2:03 pm.