LAHORE: Rumours about the change of the chief minister are yet again doing the rounds as several ‘disgruntled’ party men as well as opposition leaders are continuing lambasting Mr Buzdar for his ‘inefficiency and irrelevance’ that led Punjab to an administrative inertia.

Opposition parties also say corruption, joblessness and prices of daily-use items will continue rising until the CM like Mr Buzdar continues ruling the country’s largest province.

Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has, however, dispelled the rumours about replacing Usman Buzdar adding that a few persons’ personal grudge had nothing to do with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s narrative.

“PM Imran Khan has selected Usman Buzdar as his Punjab team captain and thrown his full weight behind the chief minister besides patronage by the federal government,” she said.

“Usman Buzdar will not speak himself but his performance,” Dr Awan said here on Wednesday.

Firdous dispels rumours about change in Punjab

Meanwhile, PML-N Punjab spokesperson Azma Bukhari has claimed that Usman Buzdar had himself created his own group of 32 MPAs and that had become a major hurdle for PM Imran Khan in his endeavour to remove Buzdar and get a new chief minister elected [from the Punjab Assembly]. “Usman Buzdar will bring his 32-MPAs group on the forefront, when PM Khan will try to oust him,” she said and alleged that Punjab’s honest captain had put the province at the mercy of his front men.

When contacted, a member of ‘disgruntled’ PTI MPAs group said all his [group] members were standing firm with their stance that the corruption rate had increased and CM Usman Buzdar was responsible [for it]. The MPA said the Buzdar dispensation had maltreated even the ruling party MPAs and they were unable to go in the public. He said his group demanded that the chief minister should be replaced with a vibrant, active and able CM to run the affairs of Punjab.

Dr Awan chided the opposition for targeting Usman Buzdar after every two to three months. She asserted that the opposition’s tall claims on TV screens could not materialise until they would submit no-confidence move in Punjab Assembly and show its majority.

To a question, the CM’s special assistant said the opposition continued using different names including PTI allies Chaudhrys of Gujrat in a bid to get their wishes fulfilled. “The world has seen in the Senate elections that the PTI allies are standing with the ruling party. Rumours have nothing to do with the ground reality,” she added.

She asked the opposition to stop making ‘childish’ moves and become a supporting hand for the development and prosperity in Punjab. She said PM Khan had instructed CM Buzdar to visit every district and announce [development] packages. “The PTI will begin a revolution of development across the province and the opposition will get nothing,” she added.

Dr Awan yet again invited the opposition to sit with the PTI government and work on amendments to ensure that all elections be held in a free and transparent manner including the upcoming Senate chairman polls. “Opposition should join the treasury benches in making amendments for open ballot otherwise the opposition will not even get its candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani elected as Senate chairman,” she said and asserted that the independent senators would vote for ruling party candidate Sadiq Sanjrani.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2021