PPP workers pin hopes on Bilawal

Head of PPP Media Cell
Pakistan People’s Party is essentially a liberal, democratic and progressive party striving assiduously for the empowerment of the less privileged sections of the society since its inception. This distinction makes it unique from the rest of the political parties of the country. It has lived up to its repute through the annals of its history during which it faced ferocious dictatorships with courage and steadfastness and kept the flag of people’s rights flying. No wonder, all the progressive and downtrodden segments of the society genuinely look up towards it for the fulfillment of their aspirations. Its sporadic pragmatism in politics was not appreciated by them leading to their disillusionment and disorientation. Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has become the centre of gravity for them hoping he will lift the party in unison with its ideological basis to retrieve the political space. He is committed and holding series of meetings with the party rank and file to formulate a narrative destined to regain its traditional bastion. He knows fully well ups and downs are common phenomena for the political parties in democratic dispensations. He is upbeat and looking forward to provide vision and leadership to the party with road map specifying the course of action.
His interaction with other opposition political forces will merit his active consideration as well because politics cannot be pursued in isolation in a functioning democracy. In his address at the Convention in Lahore he did not criticise any other party except the ruling party PML-N, on matters of immense public importance. His powerful projection of the predicaments of farmers led to the expeditious announcement of the Kissan Package by the prime minister. He warned the government in his speech at Bilawal House, Lahore, to desist from looting the farmers’ hard earned wealth failing which PPP would practically join their movement to force the government to accept their legitimate

demands, adding ‘they cannot be allowed to languish any more’.
In his same speech he declared the abandoning of the policy of ‘reconciliation’ and attacked the PML-N government by declaring it as an anti-poor, anti-farmer, anti- labour, anti-Kashmir and anti-Pakistan and had left the people of Punjab high and dry. This deserved strong disapproval of the party. PPP has paid heavy price for pursuing this policy as workers got disappointed and PTI became the centre of attraction of the youth now consisting almost 60% of the population of the country and will be eligible to vote in the next elections. The PTI capitalised on this policy of PPP and the youth consequently thronged into the fold of PTI.
In Punjab, where educated middle class is a force to be reckoned with apparently favoured PTI and PPP was posturing as sitting on the fence hoping to spring into action at an opportune time to win back its constituency. The workers and party leadership of Punjab had been insisting the high command to be tuff on the issues of public interest where the performance of the government was miserable. They were told to hold their horses with clear understanding not to create hurdles in the way of the elected government. “Worst democracy is better than best dictatorship.”
The speech of the chairman in Lahore Convention was a clear departure form the earlier policy of the PPP that definitely charged the workers and the office bearers and they looked determined to make the difference by reaching out to the estranged workers and supporters with the invitation to come home where they belong to. They would be treated with respect and dignity they could not dream in other parties where they were deemed as aliens and strangers. The PPP Punjab has now been put to test because it was vigorously insisting that the party should play the role of an active opposition by criticising government’s abject failure for not providing facilities to the people to improve the quality of their life.
In this context, the hammering out of anti-farmers policies of the government that have destroyed the rural economy is worth mentioning. The labour is insecure because privatization has been haunting them and they are suffering from in acute sense of insecurity because their livelihood is at stake. Now traders, traditionally PML-N’s constituency, are also in the streets right across the country demanding the withdrawal of tyrannical withholding tax. They are already bitter due to GST and the expensive electricity. It is the right time for the PPP to launch mass contact movement in the country projecting pro-actively its pro-farmers, pro-traders, pro-labour, pro-women, and pro-minorities policies as compared to all other governments. It needs an effective campaign to inculcate among the people with facts and figures which are quite impressive as compared to the other civil or military governments.
PPP is the party of the poor masses and its continuous and arduous struggle for the empowerment of them may not be overemphasised because history is testimony to it. The first giant step in this direction was taken by the founder of the party Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto when he entitled them with the right of vote on the basis of adult franchise. It forced the politicians to seek the support of common people if they wanted to be elected in the assemblies.
Earlier, the Electoral College for such elections was very limited and people at the grassroots level had almost no say in these elections. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto thus brought out the country’s politics from the drawing rooms of elite to the doorsteps of the poor masses. A great change in the direction of making them as the ultimate political force. The minorities were treated on equal basis as the discriminatory system of separate electorate was done away with. The land reforms in the country were introduced for the first time by PPP then government and implemented. Tens of thousands acres of land so acquired was distributed among the large number of landless farmers with proprietary rights of land holdings. The labour class was accorded recognition by awarding them the right of trade unionism with collective bargaining and shares in the state enterprises. The children of lesser gods were given the due respect and dignity by the PPP successive governments and thus proved its credentials as a party committed to serve the masses.
The declaration of zero tolerance for corruption by the chairman is a clear signal of reshuffling and re-branding of the party at all tiers. Merit and merit alone will be the policy implemented in letter and spirit. He means business and merit will be the sole determining factor to earn measurable position in the party hierarchy not the contacts. The reported setting up of internal accountability mechanism within the party is the step in the right direction. He intends to travel around the country on a mass contact campaign that will surely make qualitative difference in the revival of the party. His appeal as the son of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and a maternal grandson of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is irresistible for all the PPP workers, estranged or otherwise.
Jialas cannot stay away from Bhutto’ heir for the same reason as they feel very strongly about the legacy and cherish it from the core of their heart.
muhammadshaheedi@yahoo.com