Questions are being raised regarding the neutrality of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) officials after PTI workers caught them in the act of removing banners and flexes of Dr Yasmin Rashid, a PTI candidate who is contesting against PML-N President Nawaz Sharif in NA-120.
PTI candidate Dr Yasmin Rashid alleged that she had been noticing that her banners and flexes on various city roads would “mysteriously disappear despite the fact that she had paid the Parks and Horticulture Authority”.
“PTI has lodged a formal complaint with the DCO and the Punjab Election Commission’s office, but the police did not arrest any miscreant,” she said.
Dr Yasmin said that on Friday morning party workers had spotted two PHA officials, Farooq Ghous Rana and Muhammad Hafeez, removing her banners and flexes and putting them in a government vehicle. “Both the accused were handed over to the DCO,” she said.
Dr Yasmin alleged that PHA Director Mudassar had threatened her and her supporters.
“My workers never took the law in their own hands and have always followed the Election Commission’s code of conduct,” she said.
“The PTI is meeting complete injustice in its campaign against PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. Moreover, we are using hard-earned money, while the PML-N is using the money it has plundered from the national exchequer,” she said.
“Two police reports were registered and meetings with the DCO were also held. Although the DCO had suspended the two officials who had been caught red handed but today a TMA official was again caught taking off our banners,” she lamented.
“Upon interrogation, the man said that he was taking off the banners to sell them and was not doing it for political affiliation. We have left it to administration because we want to remain within the ambit of law,” she told Pakistan Today.
Such incidents highlight the presence of the PML-N in the bureaucratic machinery and points towards the stark reality of the subcontinent politics where parties rule even when they are not in power.
PML-N Senator Pervaiz Rasheed said his party had no connection with any such incident whatsoever.
“If the authorities have apprehended any employee taking off banners, the PTI should lodge a complaint with the ECP. We never removed anyone’s banners even when we were in the government. You should question us only if we went to the rescue of these officials. The caretaker set up has already transferred several officials and if the PTI thinks there are more officials yet to be transferred, they should ask the concerned officials,” he said
“If PTI’s tsunami is coming, they should be confident and should trust the peoples’ choice instead of blaming the PML-N for everything,” Rasheed said.
DCO Rizwan Mehboob said that the two officials who had been suspended would lose their jobs.
“The neutrality of the CDGL should not be questioned as utmost efforts are being put up,” he said.
He added that there are around 4000 banners in the city, and it is the responsibility of the officials to ensure their safety.