Bilawal takes a jab at political adversaries

Spares no one from Narendra Modi to Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan

HYDERABAD: In a first, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari joined the scheduled caste Hindu community in Tharparkar on Thursday in their Diwali celebration and used the occasion to take a jab at all his political adversaries.

From Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, Bilawal spared no one.

The public meeting hosted by the PPP in Mithi taluka's Marvi sports ground was attended by over 10,000 people from different parts of the desert. Bilawal cut the cake, watched a tableau and a dandia dance performance by the children. "Every house here is lit with the diya [earthen lamps] for Diwali," he observed, while extending greetings to the Hindu community on Diwali.

However, a major part of his speech was dominated by criticism of political adversaries and the growing religious intolerance in the neighbouring country. "Religious freedom and communal harmony is being destroyed in India," he said. "It's a slap on India's secular face."

The PPP takes Diwali as its own festival but Modi doesn't even celebrate Eid, he claimed, assuring all the scheduled caste and Muslim communities of the region that his party will make no discrimination on the basis of religion. "We will continue to celebrate Eid and Diwali together, all under the flag of the PPP and the flag of Pakistan."

LG elections

Visiting Tharparkar a week before the local government elections, in which around 500 Hindu candidates are contesting, Bilawal asked the people to vote for his party. He lambasted the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PTI for acting as 'enemies' in the Punjab and 'friends' in Sindh.

"Bala [bat] and sher [tiger] are one against the PPP [in several parts of Sindh] in the elections," he pointed out. "Even the rose [PML-Functional] and kite [MQM] have shaken hands against us in Hyderabad and Tando Allahyar."

He berated Sharif for forgetting to help the drought-stricken people of Tharparkar by failing to fulfil his promise of financial assistance. "The PM also came [to Tharparkar during the drought], made some promises and announcements, but sadly those promises and announcements never materialised."

Bilawal equated former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who represents PML-N in the district, with the Hindu Raavan, a demonic king in the Hindu epic, Ramayana. "The people [of Tharparkar] appeal to you [PM Sharif] to take away this Raavan along with you [away from Tharparkar]," he said.

He promised his party will end the influence of Arbabs from Tharparkar. "On November 19, we will give liberation to Thar's people and once again, we will celebrate Diwali."

The PPP leader welcomed Khan in Sindh, who is also visiting the neighbouring district Umerkot to mark Diwali with the Hindu community. "You are welcome but you will not get the votes."

For the very first time, the PPP candidates won both the National Assembly's seats and three of the four Sindh Assembly's seats in the 2013 general elections from this region. Provincial minister Nisar Khuhro, who also spoke at the event, asserted that they will consolidate these electoral gains in the LG polls.

There are 510,876 voters registered in the district, which consists of a district council with 64 union councils, a municipal committee with five wards and six town committees with 26 wards.


Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2015.