LAHORE, Sept 7: The PML-Q has sought an open debate on Governor Latif Khosa’s allegation that the PML-N’s Punjab government has kept secret Rs300 billion funds meant for district governments to use the amount to influence next general election.

The party’s parliamentary leader, Chaudhry Zaheer, submitted an adjournment motion with the Punjab Assembly Secretariat on Friday, seeking a discussion in the house while referring to the auditor-general’s letter that the funds given to the district governments were not got audited despite repeated warnings to the provincial authorities.

Mr Zaheer said as the letter corroborated the governor’s statement, the Punjab government should clarify its position on this important issue.

Also chairman of the Punjab Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PA), he said not getting audited official accounts was a crime, adding that provincial government’s continuous refusal to fulfill the legal requirement had eroded away its claims of transparency and good governance.

Both the governor’s statement as well as the AG’s letter has been made part of the motion.

Talking to reporters in his chambers later, Mr Zaheer said the governor’s statement was a serious matter as plan of spending taxpayers’ money on the election campaign of a political party was certainly an intolerable offence. He called for a high-level probe into the allegations.

He said it was a fact that no audit of district governments’ funds was conducted during the last four years and alleged that the local councils became centres of corruption after appointment of administrators.

He said the PML-N government’s ‘propaganda’ against alleged wrongdoings and corruption by district nazims was aimed at forcing the PML-Q local representatives to change their loyalties.