ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) joint candidate for Senate seat from Islamabad, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani Tuesday said that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was misinterpreting the leaked video of his son Ali Haider Gilani with a parliamentarian.
Gilani said this while talking to media on the on the occasion of hosting a dinner for the leadership of opposition parties here Tuesday. While reacting to his son’s leaked video, Gilani said that it was being misrepresented in the media, especially government ministers and other PTI leaders were presenting it negatively.
“I even sought Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s support for vote in my favor, so, therefore, there is nothing wrong in the leaked video” former PM Gilani said.
Gilani, questioning PM Imran Khan and the PTI leadership, said that the ruling party must control its members instead of leveling baseless allegations against others.
“Why the government is so afraid, if all the ruling alliance members are with it,” he said. He said that it was their right to ask for votes, he even wrote to the prime minister himself asking for his vote.
“We want the parliament to be supreme; the prime minister did not even shake hands with anyone before but is holding meetings today.”
He said that after the opinion of the Supreme Court on the Senate election, the ministers have started giving their opinions.
“We are against horse trading but all elections are held by secret ballot, any changes in the procedure would require legislative amendments,” he said.
Chairman Pakistan People Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, speaking on the occasion, said that his party was not involved in sale and purchase of votes at all but it was the ruling party from top to bottom sold senate tickets to millionaires.
Only government was using money not any other political party in the senate elections, PPP is a democratic party and is going into senate elections through a democratic process.
Bilawal said that the PTI government in the past three years has totally failed to resolve any public-related matter and now the top government functionaries have understood their days in power are numbered. Bilawal said that the PDM was striving for the revival of democracy and the PDM candidate from the federal capital is to win the senate elections.
Reacting to leaked video of the PPP leader and Member Punjab Assembly Ali Haider Gillani, while denying allegations of horse trading said that he was trying to explain if a member was not allowed to cast his vote independently so what steps under such conditions he can take.
He said this while addressing a press conference along with PPP leader Shazia Marri. He admitted meeting with parliamentarians but denied allegations of buying votes for his father and PPP’s candidate for Senate seat from Islamabad Yousaf Raza Gillani.
Regarding the video, he said that he explained the method of wasting votes to parliamentarians after expressing reservations regarding the identity of the ballot paper. In the video, Ali Gillani can be seen telling the lawmaker trick to mark the ballot paper on two places. Yousuf Raza Gillani is contesting against current Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh for a general seat.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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