Sunday, 5 June 2011

PM pledges to control price hike, electricity shortage



MULTAN, June 5: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said the PPP-led government would control price hike and energy crisis.Addressing a workers convention at the local CircuitHouse, Gilani said that government had initiated mega projects like Bhasha dam, Thar coal and CASA-1000 to overcome the energy crisis. The workers convention began with recitation from the holy Quran and later the participants offered Fateha for the late  Hakim Ali Zardari, father of President Asif Ali Zardari, and the party workers including Khawaja Yasin, Munir Ahmad Khan and others who had died recently.
The Prime Minister said the PPP would enjoy clear majority in the Senate in March 2012 which he hoped would set the tone for the next general elections in 2013.
He, however, made it clear that the party would never opt for the backdoor to come to power. “The PPP will come to power only by the power of vote and accept the verdict of the people whether in favour of the party or otherwise,” he added. 
The Prime Minister said, “Our rivals now know that the time for mid-term polls is over and the next general elections will decide who comes to power.”
Gilani said, “The PPP does not crave for power and it wants to serve the people in best way. The party believes in a ceaseless struggle for strengthening democracy and protection of rights of the people whether in power or in opposition.”
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said the party had waged a struggle for the freedom of media and independence of judiciary,  adding that it would continue to move ahead in the direction.
He said the PPP-led government faced criticism from the media and other quarters with tolerance because it was the party that made numerous sacrifices for the cause of democracy and it had more responsibility to uphold democratic norms and traditions.
He said that some quarters might take politics of reconciliation as weakness but they were mistaken. The politics of reconciliation was the philosophy, strategy and vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. It was the reconciliatory politics that ensured presentation of the fourth national budget by the incumbent government, he added.
The Prime Minister said that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave the 1973 constitution to the country and it was the mission of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to restore the constitution to its true spirit.
He said that parliament had repealed draconian laws and restored the 1973 constitution and lauded the house for achieving the historic milestone. 
Gilani also heaped praise on President Asif Ali Zardari, who he added, voluntarily delegated powers to the parliament and Prime Minister. 
He said the PPP was a symbol of national unity and federation. “The party gave a constitution to the nation which kept the federation intact and guided the country in troubled situations,” he added.
Gilani said that Pakistan was a responsible state and its people were also responsible. The country was not isolated, rather, it had emerged stronger.
He said the armed forces, civil society, and institutions rendered sacrifices in the fight against militancy, which were acknowledged by the international community.
Referring to the Opposition’s attitude in the National Assembly during the budget speech, the Prime Minister said listening to the budget speech was the right of every parliamentarian and citizen and depriving them of this right was a non-parliamentary tradition.
He, however, added that the PPP would not adopt such attitude.
“We will listen to the budget speech in the Punjab Assembly attentively and then will respond to it through speeches,” he said.
He said that PPP was a strong party and workers were its real asset. He announced that five per cent of the development budget of parliamentarians would be spent on workers’ recommendations for welfare of people and to meet their development needs at grassroots level.
Earlier, the party workers and office bearers also spoke on the occasion and apprised the Prime Minister of their problems. They included district president Khalid Hanif Lodhi, tehsil general secretary A.D Baloch, Zafar Baloch, Farhan Gilani, Rao Sajid, Hasham Khan, Mian Manzoor Qadir Qadri, Begum B.A Jigar, Abdullah Shah, Abdur Rauf Lodhi, Mohammad Yasin, Bushra Naqvi, Moazzamma Husnain and Multan district’s women wing president.
MPAs Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani, Syed Nazim Hussain Shah, Malik Ahmad Hussain Dehar, Malik Mohammad Amir Dogar, PM’s Media Coordinator Khawaja Rizwan Alam and PPP city president Khursheed Khan were also present.

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