‘Sharifs focused on surveys rather than development’
Pervaiz Elahi slams Punjab govt’s financial discipline.
LAHORE:
The Sharif brothers would have been far more popular if they had focused on helping the poor, fighting crime and improving schools rather than on popularity surveys, said Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Saturday.
Elahi, who served as chief minister of the Punjab from 2002 to 2007, was commenting on a survey by the International Republican Institute which showed that the PML-Nawaz had gained in popularity.
Talking to Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leaders at his residence, Elahi said that victory in elections depended on voters’ support on election day, not on survey results.
He said that his party had polled the most votes in the Punjab and the second highest in the country, even though an IRI survey before the 2008 elections had predicted otherwise.
He said that the PML-N had bankrupted the Punjab. He said when his government had stepped down, the province had a Rs100 billion surplus. Now, the State Bank was reporting that the province was heavily in debt, he said.
Elahi said that another State Bank report showed that the province’s economy grew at a rate of 8 per cent in 2007, while it was growing at just 1.8 per cent in 2012.
The State Bank had also reported that under Elahi, the Punjab government had utilised up to 98 per cent of the development budget, while the Shahbaz Sharif government had utilised only 43 per cent, he said.
He said that the Punjab government had wasted billions of rupees on the Sasti Roti scheme, Ashiana Housing scheme, Laptop scheme, Danish Schools and the Lahore Metro Bus Service.
He said the laptops handed out to students for free by the Punjab government had started showing up at shops in Hafeez Centre the day after they were given.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2012.
The Sharif brothers would have been far more popular if they had focused on helping the poor, fighting crime and improving schools rather than on popularity surveys, said Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Saturday.
Elahi, who served as chief minister of the Punjab from 2002 to 2007, was commenting on a survey by the International Republican Institute which showed that the PML-Nawaz had gained in popularity.
Talking to Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leaders at his residence, Elahi said that victory in elections depended on voters’ support on election day, not on survey results.
He said that his party had polled the most votes in the Punjab and the second highest in the country, even though an IRI survey before the 2008 elections had predicted otherwise.
He said that the PML-N had bankrupted the Punjab. He said when his government had stepped down, the province had a Rs100 billion surplus. Now, the State Bank was reporting that the province was heavily in debt, he said.
Elahi said that another State Bank report showed that the province’s economy grew at a rate of 8 per cent in 2007, while it was growing at just 1.8 per cent in 2012.
The State Bank had also reported that under Elahi, the Punjab government had utilised up to 98 per cent of the development budget, while the Shahbaz Sharif government had utilised only 43 per cent, he said.
He said that the Punjab government had wasted billions of rupees on the Sasti Roti scheme, Ashiana Housing scheme, Laptop scheme, Danish Schools and the Lahore Metro Bus Service.
He said the laptops handed out to students for free by the Punjab government had started showing up at shops in Hafeez Centre the day after they were given.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2012.