ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal has said the chief election commissioner should take notice of the image-building media campaign being run by the Punjab government for the forthcoming elections involving millions of rupees.

In a statement, he said self-projection campaign out of World Bank loan for education sector reforms in Punjab was illegal, unconstitutional and unethical.

“Para Lekha Punjab (Literate Punjab)” campaign is causing great sense of deprivation in smaller provinces because we need Para Lekha Pakistan not just Punjab. Pakistan can’t be literate unless all provinces like Sindh, the NWFP and Balochistan have equal levels of educational attainment,” he said.

Mr Iqbal said either the federal government should arrange similar funds for all provinces from the World Bank to squander on self projection media campaigns in the name of education or this hilarious media campaign for the projection of chief minister must stop.

“On September 8, 1999, International Literacy Day, more than 800,000 school-going age children were enrolled by Nawaz government without a single rupee being squandered on media campaign.

Even today there are hundreds of school where children cannot be enrolled for lack of funds for additional classrooms or teachers. Education demands action and not media campaigns. Has Punjab government fulfilled all demands for construction of new classrooms and recruitment of new teachers that it is wasting millions on self projection, he said.

The PML-N information secretary said the country had slipped in its international rankings for human development and literacy. The Punjab government has dropped Quaid-i-Azam’s message for students from textbooks and instead included Gen Musharraf’s message, which was height of sycophancy.

He said: “The recent rains have once again proven incompetence of the government. All cities have witnessed failed water disposal systems. Earlier, the citizens saw failed water supply systems causing hundreds to die due to drinking contaminated water. Today, over 15 million are suffering from hepatitis. The government suffers from mega-incompetence just like it has indulged into mega corruption and mega extravaganza in its governance.”

Mr Iqbal said the election process was working one sided. The PML-N MPA has been disqualified on a frivolous charge that his proposer did not belong to the constituency whereas the petition of veteran PML-N politician M. Hamza challenging bogus degree of his PML-Q opponent is awaiting judgment for last several months even though the hearing of the case is complete and the judgment just needs to be announced by the election tribunal.