LAHORE: PML-N Member of Punjab Assembly (MPA) Jalil Sharaqpuri today (Saturday) slammed his party’s supremo Nawaz Sharif and called him a ‘lota’.
“Did Nawaz not change his loyalties? They are all lotas,” he said while addressing a press conference in Lahore today (Sunday). The lota — a plastic vessel — is used figuratively in Pakistani politics as an insulting term for people who switch parties and loyalties.
Jalil Sharaqpuri is among five PML-N MPAs who earned the ire of the party leadership when they met Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar without obtaining permission.
The PML-N leader further said that India was taking advantage of Nawaz’s speeches made from London via video link. “In my opinion, Nawaz’s speech was inappropriate,” he added.
Sharaqpuri also said that the PML-N supremo should speak in the interest of Pakistan. “While the party leadership makes decisions, a person should be able to express his reservations against them,” he remarked.
Referring to differences with Nawaz, he said that he was a member of the PML-N earlier but left the party after ideological differences with Nawaz, following which he was with the PTI for eight years.
“In 2018 elections, Rana Tanveer asked me to opt for PML-N’s ticket and I agreed on the condition that I be allowed to hold on to my differences with Nawaz,” he claimed.
Sharaqpuri said that he had come into politics to serve the country. “For me, Pakistan comes before anything or anyone else,” he added.
Speaking about Prime Minister Imran Khan, the lawmaker said that the premier has Pakistan’s interests at heart. “He raised the slogan of Islam in the United Nations,” he remarked.
A few days earlier, PML-N workers shouted slogans against Jalil Sharaqpuri, obstructed Sharaqpuri’s path and placed a lota on top of his head.
Commenting in this regard, he demanded PML-N to take action against those involved. “I joined PML-N with good intentions, and I am still a part of it,” he added.
