Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday accused the Narendra Modi-led government of preventing any kind of scrutiny of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations, or PM CARES Fund.
“It is abundantly clear that the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government is making desperate efforts to shield PM CARES Fund from any kind of scrutiny,” Chidambaram tweeted. “Was the Fund set up by the central government as concluded by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs? If not, who set up the Fund and in what capacity?”
Chidambaram wondered why the prime minister and three Cabinet ministers were serving as trustees of the fund if it was not set up by the central government. He asked who had appointed Modi and the three Cabinet ministers as trustees.
“If the Fund is a private established fund, why are donations to the Fund counted against CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility]?” Chidambaram asked. “Will donations to other privately-established funds be also counted against CSR?”
The former finance minister asked who authorised the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to make a retrospective amendment to the Schedule to the Companies Act, inserting the name of the PM CARES fund in the Schedule. Chidambaram asked if the ministry would insert the names of other privately established funds in the Schedule to the Companies Act.
“The retrospective amendment in favour of a privately established fund is obviously an act of favouritism and discriminatory,” he alleged. “It will be challenged.”
On Wednesday, Chidambaram had asked if those who donated more than Rs 3,000 crore in five days of March to the PM CARES fund were Chinese companies. He also asked the government to reveal the amount received by it since April 1 and the donors. The former finance minister also asked what was the procedure to allocate money from the fund.
Relations between India and China have deteriorated following a clash between the armies of the two countries in Ladakh on June 15. Twenty Indian soldiers had died in the clash. There have been calls in India to boycott Chinese products.
The fund was set up by the government on March 28, to deal with emergency situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and provide quick relief measures. The prime minister is the ex-officio chairperson of the fund and the defence, home and finance ministers are ex-officio trustees.
The Supreme Court had on August 18 rejected a plea to transfer the PM CARES Fund to the National Disaster Relief Fund. While disposing of the petition, the court added that there was no need for a fresh national disaster relief plan for the pandemic.
Opposition parties have questioned the need to create the reserve when Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund already existed. They have also expressed doubts about the fund’s transparency.
Last month, the Centre told the top court that the PM CARES Fund is a “public charitable trust” to which anyone can contribute. However, it has been argued that PM CARES is not subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General but by private auditors.
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