Second chance: PPP nominates Bhatti for NA-137 by polls

LAHORE:

Pakistan Peoples Party on Monday nominated Rai Shah Jehan Bhatti as its candidate for by elections in NA-137, Nankana Sahib.

The seat fell vacant after Rai Mansab Ali Khan passed away.

Talking to newsmen, PPP Punjab president Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo said the Bhatti would be supported by former provincial assembly members Rai Aslam Kharal, Mian Mushtaq Hussian Dogar, Syed Ibrar Hussain Shah, Asif Khan, Chaudhary Muhammad Manzoor.

He said PPP was confident of winning the seat in the by-elections. He said people were disappointed with the ruling party, as government had failed to deliver good governance as they had promised in 2013.

He urged the provincial government to hold local government elections in November, as instructed by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

He said the government should stop distributing funds for local bodies elections among MPAs. He said the PPP would take the government to court if it did not desist.

Wattoo said a provincial finance commission should be set up with the mandate to fairly distribute resources among all districts of the province.

He said it was unfair that 50 per cent of provincial resources were spent on 8 per cent population of Lahore. He said the metro bus was a “perennial drain on the exchequer.”

He said the project had been imposed on residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

He said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders were using flashy projects to hide poor governance and corruption.

Wattoo said the Peoples Student Federation had been dissolved and a new body would be formed with students under 30 years.

He said the PSF would mobilise students to infuse new a spirit in the party.

“We cannot take the party forward without new ideas on board,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2015.