No wonder there is panic in the ranks of the champions of the status quo and wishful thoughts of removal of the govt.
KARACHI: This is with reference to Professor Rasul Bakhsh Rais’s article of November 8 titled “A rising rural middle class”. I would say that Professor Rais is not a “disappointed man” as referred to by Ejaz Haider in the latter’s column “No Eden here, folks” (also November 8).
High support prices of agricultural crops and a return of the public sector in the purchasing of agricultural produce have resulted in annual flows of around Rs400 billion to the neglected rural population. The Benazir Income Support Programme, large-scale employment in a climate of global recession, and other government-facilitated programmes are helping transfer substantial funds to the poorest of the poor.
Issuance of national identity cards, free of cost, has added another 16 million eligible voters from this class. Subtract the 25-30,000 bogus votes per every National Assembly constituency that now cannot be used by the right-wingers due to the computerised electronic database. Also subtract the involvement of the Presidency in high-scale rigging of elections and a completely different pro-democracy and pro-progress picture emerges.
No wonder there is panic in the ranks of the champions of the status quo and wishful thoughts of removal of the government abound.
Taj Haider
General Secretary,
Pakistan Peoples Party, Sindh
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2010.
