Federal budget 2021-22 sails through National Assembly with a majority vote

ISLAMABAD: The federal budget 2021-22 was adopted with a majority vote of 172 lawmakers by the National Assembly on Tuesday as Prime Minister Imran Khan also attended the proceedings, ARY NEWS reported.

The Finance bill 2021-22 was presented before the National Assembly by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and initially, the speaker sought a nod on the bill through a voice vote, however, later over the opposition’s demand, he held an in-person vote.

During the counting process, 138 members of the opposition voted against the Finance bill as compared to 172 lawmakers of the treasury supporting it, paving way for the approval of the federal budget.

During the voting process, Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was overseeing the budget 2021-22 passage process from his chamber, joined the treasury benches.

Most members of the PML-N that is the major opposition group in the assembly remained absent during the voting process. 70 out of 84 members of the PML-N that is lead by Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif in the House remained absent, in sheer contrast to PPP, whose 54 out of 56 lawmakers attended the budget 2021-22 passage session.

The two lawmakers, according to sources who remained absent were suffering from COVID-19.

It is pertinent to mention here that amidst ruckus by the opposition, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on June 11 unveiled the federal budget 2021-22 in the National Assembly.

With an increase of 36.4%, the federal government has proposed Rs900 billion for the development budget for the fiscal year 2021-22.

The federal government has projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate at 4.8% for the upcoming fiscal year 2021-22.