ISLAMABAD: Senate Opposition Leader Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said thathe has sent his resignation from the post as he is being wrongly accused ofhelping the government in passing the State Bank Amendment Act 2021.
The Senate on Friday passed the State Bank of Pakistan Amendment Bill witha majority of only one vote. The bill presented by Finance Minister ShaukatTarin faced stiff resistance from the members belonging to the oppositionbenches. But amid the ruckus, the amendment bill was passed with 44 membersin favor and 43 against.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, earlier, in his media talk appreciatedthe role of the former prime minister in helping the government pass thebill from the house where the treasury benches lacked a majority.
The former prime minister said that the state bank bill was not referred toany Senate committee. “I believe that the role of Chairman and Speaker ofthe National Assembly is the custodian of the house, not the government,”he said. “You (Senate Chairman) facilitated the government, not oppositionby adjourning the session.”
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It has been the first time in the history of Pakistan that a SenateChairman had to vote after a tie, as a custodian of the house you shouldhave protected the rights of both sides of the aisles, he said.
Senator Gilani said that he is not astonished by the harsh words of hisopponents but by the silence of his well-wishers. “The ministers who areturned coats when they say I helped the government. The credit should begiven to you (Senate Chairman) not me,” he said. “This is rigging. Itshould not happen.”
