OKARA, Jan 29: There is tussle between Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi and Defence Minister Rao Skindar Iqbal over the issue of President Pervez Musharraf’s public meeting venue.

The president is scheduled here on Feb 3.

Sources say since the president is visiting the town on Rao’s invitation, the minister wants his say in matters like venue selection and other arrangements. However, he faces opposition from the district administration and other ruling party parliamentarians who do not want Rao to steal the show.

Besides the venue, the other bone of contention is that who will present the address of welcome. The district nazim having the backing of the chief minister says it is his right while Rao says it is his since he is the host.

Having complaints against Rao, ruling party’s four MNAs and five MPAs from Okara are supporting the chief minister.

Sources said tempers ran high at a meeting between the chief minister and defence minister in Lahore a couple of days ago. The meeting was also attended by the MPs, district nazim and three tehsil nazims.

Sources said Rao walked out of the meeting twice but was prevailed upon by his cousin MNA Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan and provincial housing minister Syed Raza Ali Gillani.

“I have been mobilising public alone for last several weeks,” Rao was quoted as telling the meeting.

After the meeting, the administration said the Okara bypass eastern end would the venue of the public meeting and deployed workforce there to clear and level the ground by removing crops. However, the work was halted on Monday following the defence minister’s strong protest.

Sources said the district administration had now proposed two venues - the Zila Council stadium adjacent to district courts complex (which has also been proposed by Rao) and Additional District Headquarters Hospital, some 4 km away from the city on Okara-Deepalpur road.

Differences and tension between coalition partners surface whenever the president and the prime minister visit the district to address a public meeting.

Earlier, during the visit of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz 18 months ago, the minister had slapped the then DPO for `mismanaging’ the PM’s route to the public meeting venue.

Similarly, during the president’s last visit the demands for uplift projects presented by the minister did not have the backing of the chief minister and administration.