New Delhi: The issue of non-transparency of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund ran into a heated debate in parliament. A line of opposition leaders made interventions in the Lok Sabha to question and criticise the manner in which the Union government has been withholding information about the Fund, which is meant to be spent on pandemic relief, while at the same time allowing donations from multiple sources, including those from abroad, into the corpus.
Congress’s Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury questioned the Narendra Modi government over the need of such a private trust-like fund when there is an existing Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF). Chowdhury, during the discussion on the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020 in Parliament, said, “I want to ask our finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, what is the need for creating a parallel fund when we already have PMNRF?”
“It appears to have been created to conceal the donations of private persons and corporates,” he said.
He also took a dig at the government for having taken loans from Chinese banks amidst a border stand-off between the two countries. “I also want to ask our FM if it’s true that you took a loan from Chinese banks even after our Indian Army personnel were fighting in the Galwan valley. How much loan has been taken from China since April?” he asked.
Chowdhury’s comments led to uproar between the opposition and treasury benches, with the junior minister for finance and corporate affairs Anurag Thakur alleging that the PMNRF functions like the Gandhi family’s private property, while PM-CARES is a registered trust. “The first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru constituted the PMNRF in 1948. PMNRF is still not registered. The members of the trust were Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the President of Indian National Congress and a nominee of Tata Trust,” Thakur, known for his provocative and communal statements, said.
“The PM-CARES fund was registered on March 27, 2020, under the 1908 Act. An independent auditor was appointed. Nobody is forced to donate to this fund. The members of the trust are all ex officio members such as Prime Minister, minister of defence, minister of home affairs and minister of finance,” he added.
The junior minister said that the Fund was constituted as a trust with the Prime Minister, Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister as ex-officio members, and is audited by independent auditors SARC and Associates who also audit the PM National Relief Fund. He also added that no money from the Consolidated Fund of India goes into the PM-CARES.
However, that cut no ice with opposition members, with TMC MP Mahua Moitra interjecting to say that the Fund was a “black hole” which had no accountability.
She pointed out that at least 38 public sector companies donated Rs 2,100 crore to the PM CARES around 70% of the corpus which is all the more reason for the government to be transparent on all dealings made through the Fund.–Agencies
