Any attempt to delay no-confidence motion will violate Constitution, says Bizenjo
The opposition in the Senate on Friday reiterated their resolve to remove Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjhrani from his post and once again declared that the change was 'inevitable'.
Opposition leader Mir Hasil Bizenjo — the opposition's joint candidate for Senate chairman — spoke to the media after a meeting of opposition leaders on Friday to inform that a letter has been submitted to the Senate secretariat.
"In the letter, it has been clearly stated that the Constitution allows for a no-confidence motion to be brought against the Senate chairman. And if the motion is accepted through a majority, the chairman has to step down," he said.
Insisting that the opposition has the numbers, Bizenjo pointed out that the meeting of the opposition yesterday had included more than 50 senators. He further claimed that the next meeting, to be held on Monday, will have more than 60 senators.
"If any attempt to delay the motion is made, it will be a violation of the Constitution. It is important that a session is called immediately and voting should take place," Bizenjo said.
The letter sent to the Senate secretariat also challenged Sanjhrani's claim — made in an earlier letter sent to the PPP's parliamentary leader in Senate Sherry Rehman — that a no-confidence motion could not be moved in a requisitioned session.
In their response, opposition leaders argued that the Constitution does not, in any way, forbid the use of a requisition motion to bring up a no-confidence motion during a Senate session.
In yesterday's meeting, at least 54 of the 66 opposition senators — enough to remove the Senate chairman — had expressed the resolve to not withdraw the no-confidence motion against the Senate chairman.
Sherry Rehman had told yesterday's meeting that preserving the prestige of the Senate was not a duty of the opposition alone, adding that the government’s claim that it would defeat the no-confidence motion was nothing short of an admission of indulgence in horse-trading.
“This is called horse-trading plus,” she had remarked.
Citing yesterday's attendance, the opposition leaders today described it as an informal vote on the motion of no-confidence and described it as 'proof' that their motion would sail through Senate if put to the vote.
