Rodents in Parliament Lodges chew MNA

ISLAMABAD – PPP-P female MNA Shahida Rehmani shocked her colleagues in the National Assembly yesterday when she said she was bitten by a rodent while she was sleeping in a room in the parliamentary boxes.

The PPP-P legislature complained in rules of procedure about the presence of large numbers of large rodents in the parliamentary boxes. “Parliamentarians’ bedrooms are unsafe due to the large number of rodents in the parliamentary boxes,” MNA Shahida Rehmani said in a procedural rule.

She was supported by her colleagues in the house and said that there were many rats moving around the rooms.

Rehmani said she was bitten by a rat in her bedroom at the Parliament Lodges. “I had to have the anti-bite injection, after which I will be here to attend the negotiations in the House,” she said, calling on the administration of the parliamentary boxes to take note of this frightening situation.

The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Qasim Suri, then gave instructions to the director of the Capital Development Authority. One of her colleagues suggested that cats be recruited to kill rodents in Parliament’s lodges.

This is not the first time MPs have complained about the presence of rats in parliament. In previous reigns, the sound system became dysfunctional during the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee when rodents broke the wire.

Legislators on both sides who live in the parliamentary boxes have been seen worried and concerned about the presence of these rodents in their living areas. The rules of procedure made the MNAs present in the house smile and worry.

On a further point of order, opposition parties and allied governing parties expressed reservations about not being included in the parliamentary delegations. Saira Bano of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) expressed concern about not including the Allied partners in the list of parliamentary delegations. “Parliamentary delegations usually go outside the country, but allies are never invited,” she said.

On the Rules of Procedure, MNA Shahida Akhtar Ali raised the same concerns about not including the name of the opposition in the parliamentary delegation representing it. Deputy spokesman Qasim Khan Suri assured that he would take note of the matter.

Previously, the House was informed today that a rupee 313 billion program has been prepared to address the problem of child malnutrition. Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services, Nousheen Hamid, said during Question Time that the central development group had already approved the program. She said the program was prepared on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the goal is to remove growth delays by 2030.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan told the House of Representatives that efforts are being made to introduce new seeds to increase agricultural productivity, including that of cotton.

He said we gave the agricultural sector a special 50 billion rupee aid package following the Covid-19 outbreak. He said the farmers would receive subsidies for fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. As a result of these measures, the country has seen record wheat production of 27.5 million tons.

The Minister of State said it was the first time investments were made to address farmers’ problems. He said that the farmers will be given a subsidy of ten billion rupees for various agricultural inputs for the kharif season.