Hindu Panchayat accuses minority MNA of embezzling funds

Says PPP MNA Ramesh Lal embezzled Rs2.5 million from

government funds granted for minorities

Karachi

The Hindu Panchayat of Larkana alleged on Tuesday that Pakistan People’s Party’s Ramesh Lal, an MNA of their community and constituency, was involved in massive financial embezzlement.

At a press conference held at the Karachi Press Club, Ramesh Kumar, the Panchayat’s vice president, accused Lal of embezzling Rs2.5 million from government funds granted for the minorities of the province.

Flanked by former MNA Kishan Chand Pavrani, Advocate Rochi Ram, Manohar Jaisrani and Narain Das Khiyani, he said the prime minister, other political leaders and the armed forces should take action against the corrupt MNA.

“Instead of political parties nominating minority candidates, the minorities should be given the right to elect their genuine representatives,” Kumar demanded. 

Presenting a complaint verification receipt of the National Accountability Bureau, he said the Panchayat had requested it to probe into 13 fake schemes initiated by Lal that were only present on paper.

Kumar said the Tharparker district, 200 children die every year because of malnutrition. “Even though minority leaders are selected from the constituency, no one bothers to pay heed to the miseries of the communities.

He said the provincial government had claimed success in providing water to the people of Tharparker through reverse osmosis plants, but the reality was that the people living there still had no access to water.

He said recently a 14-year-old girl, Laila Jogi, was kidnapped and forcibly converted and despite the restrictions imposed on under-age marriages she was immediately married off by her abductors.

Kumar said many Pakistani Hindus had migrated to India because they were not receiving their due rights in the country.

“Hindus living in rural Sindh have been kept deprived of schools, proper hospitals, and transport systems,” he added.

“We want justice and equal rights because we are as much a part of Pakistan as anyone else in the country.”