Oust me if you can, Gilani challenges PML-N

Islamabad, Apr 28 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has thrown a challenge to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to bring a no-confidence motion against him, saying nobody could remove him from his office except the National Assembly (NA) speaker.

Gilani came down hard on the PML-N, saying, "Nobody could impose his decision or wish on us. We are elected people and have strived to uphold the constitution and respect of institutions."

"They cannot act like God. We have majority in both houses of parliament. They should respect others. I challenge them... if they have courage, they should move a no-confidence motion against me," the Daily Times quoted Gilani, as saying.

"Am I not an elected prime minister? Do I not represent 180 million people of Pakistan? Nobody can remove me from the office of prime minister except you madam speaker," Gilani told the NA, a day after the Supreme Court convicted him in a contempt of court case.

"An elected prime minister cannot be removed without due process," he said. "What is my fault? What wrong have I committed?" Gilani said.

"I have not been convicted for financial or moral corruption. I have been convicted for protecting the constitution," he added.

Gilani said after former president Pervez Musharraf toppled Nawaz Sharif's government in 1999, he had announced not to accept any parliament without Benazir Bhutto or Nawaz Sharif.

"We had condemned it at time when people of their own party were silent. I had contended that it was an unconstitutional step and thus unacceptable to me," said Gilani. He said the government had been maintaining an alliance with all political parties. "But they (PML-N) cannot do so even for a single day. They are too egoistic. We have accommodated them too by allocating funds worth billions of rupees," he said. (ANI)