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Rahul Gandhi reiterates demand for audit of PM-Cares fund
The Congress accused both the Centre and the Delhi government of being non-transparent in reporting the coronavirus cases.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reiterated his demand for an audit of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-Cares) Fund, created in March to fund relief measures aimed at easing the distress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.
“The #PmCares fund has received huge contributions from PSUs {public sector undertakings} & major public utilities like the Railways,” Gandhi tweeted.
“It’s important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public,” added Gandhi, who voiced a similar demand at a news conference on Friday.
“The PM-Cares Fund should be audited. We should know about the donors and the donations. We should know who gave how much. There is no problem in saying that,” Gandhi had said.
Last week, he had hit out at the railways for charging fare to transport migrant workers returning to their home states and giving donation to the PM-Cares Fund.
In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi had said, “On one hand the Railways is extorting ticket fare from labourers stranded in different states, on the other hand the Rail Ministry is depositing donations of Rs 151 crore in PM Cares fund. Please solve this puzzle. “
Earlier in the day, the Congress accused both the Centre and the Delhi government of being non-transparent in reporting the coronavirus cases.
Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken told reporters that there was “confusion” within the Centre in its fight against the Covid-19, and asked how India would tackle the pandemic if officials continued to speak in different voices.
Maken referred to “differing” comments made by some officials on the Covid-19 situation in the country and urged the government to tell the people clearly about the exact state of the pandemic to enable them to prepare accordingly.
He also asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi to be more transparent in reporting the coronavirus cases.
Maken’s comments came as confusion prevailed over the number of deaths due to the coronavirus in the national capital, with data from four hospitals showing that 92 people succumbed to the infection as against 68 deaths reported by the Delhi government.
“It is a matter of shame that the national capital is witnessing a sorry state of affairs” n the fight against the pandemic,” the Congress leader said.
He said there should be more coordination between states and the central government, and urged the Centre to spell out a clear exit strategy for the lockdown.
