The ordinance against floor-crossing in the national and provincial assemblies promulgated by former prime minister Moeen Qureshi will lapse on February 7th. In all probability, Benazir Bhutto’s government will not seek to renew it, at least not for some time.
A floor-crossing bill has been moved in the Senate. After it has been debated, agreed upon and forwarded to the national assembly, it will go to a parliamentary committee which will deliberate upon its clauses before moving it in parliament. Meanwhile, MNAs and MPAs will be free to form “forward blocks”, blackmail the government and opposition and haggle over terms for switching sides. Why doesn’t the government give another lease of life to this ordinance?
Shortly after she became prime minister, Ms Bhutto offered to negotiate with Mr Nawaz Sharif on the fate of Mr Moeen Qureshi’s various ordinances. Ms Bhutto was especially keen to clinch the two issues over which the manifestoes of both the PPP and the PML(N) seemed to be in harmony — the nomination of women to parliament and the repeal of certain sections of the 8th amendment.
But Mr Sharif’s attitude was inexplicably negative. He refused to cooperate with the government at any level. In fact, he seemed determined to stop Ms Bhutto from legislating at all. Mr Sharif’s stone-walling tactics may now be about to rebound on him because Ms Bhutto seems to think that there may be some definite advantages for the PPP in allowing the floor-crossing ordinance to lapse.
It is a well known fact that Muslim Leaguers generally do not like straying too far from the corridors of power. After February 7th, many PML(N) wallahs will not be able to resist the temptation proferred by the power-brokers. Of course, Mr Sharif will be bruised by the defections. But it is by no means certain that the horses will stampede in the direction of the PPP.
The first crisis is expected to erupt in the Punjab where the Wattoo-Faisal contradiction has been simmering for some time. If the PML(N) turncoats turn to the PPP, Mr Wattoo’s blackmailing tactics will become hollow and he will no longer remain indispensable. In the event, he can either grovel for a “new deal” with Mr Hayat on the PPP’s terms or he can conspire with Mr Sharif to try and destabilize the assembly. If he gets really angry and desperate, he could even dissolve the assembly and plunge the country into a new crisis. But if Mr Wattoo is able to lure the PML(N) traitors to his stables, the PPP’s problems in the Punjab are bound to increase. At the very least, Mr Hayat will have to pack his bags and let Mr Wattoo run the show in the Punjab. In either case, however, the PPP will find itself in an uncomfortable situation.
Obviously, the PPP thinks this line of argument is misplaced. It believes that the turncoats will gallop straight into its arms because Mr Wattoo has precious little to offer in comparison with the enormous powers of patronage available through the good offices of Islamabad. In this country, three things matter above all: police, DC and banks. Mr Hayat weilds the district administration (stick) while Ms Bhutto controls the credits and loans (carrots) from public sector financial institutions. The idea would be to open the gates of the stables, herd in the horses, stamp them with the PPP tri-colour and swiftly re-issue the floor-crossing ordinance. An open and shut case, as it were.
But Ms Bhutto might be advised to pause and reconsider some possible consequences of embarking on this path. By stooping to conquer, she will surely lose much of the moral high ground she occupies as a democrat and parliamentarian of long standing. People will accuse her of demeaning the spirit of the constitution to suit her mundane purposes, much as Mr Sharif did while he was in power. We also wonder whether such devious tactics will lead to greater stability and better government in the country.
The PPP has 96 MPAs in a house of 248 in the Punjab. Along with the independents, minorities and fresh turncoats, its tally could go up to 140. This would enable it to form a government without bargaining with Mr Wattoo. But a majority of only 15 MPAs would also make its government susceptible to blackmail and pressure tactics from a host of lotas and unscrupulous elements. This route leads to corruption, misuse of power and bad government. That is absolutely the last thing we need.
Mr Wattoo and Mr Sharif have pushed the PPP to take refuge in desperate tactics. If Mr Wattoo had kept to his bargain over power-sharing with Mr Hayat and if Mr Sharif had cooperated with Ms Bhutto in parliament, we need never have come to such a sorry pass. Damned if the PPP does and damned if it doesn’t.
It is still not too late for Mr Wattoo and Mr Sharif to become reasonable and give Ms Bhutto an opportunity to pull back from the brink. The floor-crossing law is necessary to bury the obnoxious practice of horse-trading. The ordinance must be saved from an untimely death.