LAHORE: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced on Monday ending the politics of reconciliation towards the ruling PML-N, saying his party is a “party of resistance, not reconciliation”.

The PPP chief, who is here on a weeklong visit along with his sister Bakhtawar, met party leaders and workers from Vehari and Lodhran districts at the Bilawal House in Bahria Town.

Facing strong comments of PPP workers that the party was still going ‘soft’ on the PML-N despite legal actions against its leaders, Mr Bilawal was quoted by a participant as having said: “The PPP is a party of resistance and not reconciliation. We will give tough time to the PML-N in the local bodies elections.”

Also read: Bilawal’s choices

An old worker said PPP could not be revived in Punjab unless the chairman came on the front and challenged his opponents, especially the PML-N leaders. “The policy of reconciliation has already cost us dearly. Please give up the policy of reconciliation and rekindle a new spirit in the party,” the old guard said.

Most of the leaders and workers who got the opportunity to speak out their mind requested the chairman to ‘adopt the politics of confrontation’ towards the PML-N, saying the PPP was being labelled as ‘B-team’ of the PML-N’s Sharifs.

After the arrest of Dr Asim Hussain, a close aide to PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, the former president recently accused Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of “repeating the politics of the 1990s”.

“The PPP’s reconciliation policy towards the PML-N is almost over. However, Mr Bilawal will take on the Sharifs at the right time after the approval of his father,” a leader told Dawn.

Mr Bilawal said that PPP Jialas should not be disappointed because he would strengthen the party along with them. “I will visit every district in Punjab and interact with the workers,” he said.

He said that Election Commission’s provincial members should resign without delay for having failed to hold free and fair elections in 2013, otherwise the PPP would hold protests. He said PPP would not hesitate in taking to streets for the rights of the poor.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2015

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