KARACHI, Feb 19: The Pakistan Peoples Party has initiated destruction of the democratic order in the country as the opposition in the Sindh Assembly has no interest in running of the assembly except follow its own agenda of creating scenes and rumpus.

These were the views of provincial ministers Syed Sardar Ahmad, Irfanullah Khan Marwat, Muhammad Hussain, Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain and Nadir Akmal Leghari.

Addressing a joint press conference in the chamber of the chief minister soon after the house was prorogued they rejected the allegations of rigging in the by-elections and said the fact was that the people had rejected the PPP.

Mr Marwat regretted the opposition’s attitude who he claimed had a specific agenda of disrupting the House proceeding and the placards and banners were proof.

He said when the PPP won the by-election in Shikarpur it termed the victory the outcome of transparent election but after losing by-elections on NA-250 Karachi and PA-71 Jamshoro instead accepting defeat started levelling accusations of rigging.

He claimed that the rigging of elections was first done in election in the prime ministership of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The people, he said, had not yet forgotten the kidnapping of opposition candidates Jan Muhammad Abbasi and opponents of PPP in Thatta in the 1977 election. He said in those elections, 28 members of PPP had returned unopposed in the National Assembly.

Syed Sardar Ahmad said the people levelling charges of rigging had not challenged a single vote in the polling stations and if they had any objection on the result, why did they not file a petition in court.

Nadir Akmal Leghari said the MQM, PML-Q and the chief minister’s performance had neutralised the Sindh Card.

Muhammad Hussain said the turnout in the by-election had increased because of the massive development works in progress. Besides MQM chief Altaf Hussain had addressed three public meetings while the PPP had failed to organise even one public meeting.

Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain said the impression was not correct that the session was summoned to administer oath to newly elected members as they had business sufficient for ten days.