Congress-BJP lock horns in Lok Sabha over PM-CARES Fund; ruckus forces 30-min adjournment

Update at 6:20 PM

After Lok Sabha being adjourned thrice due to his comments, Anurag Thakur apolgised saying, "It was not my intention to hurt anyones feeling or sentiments, even so if anyone is hurt by my statement I regret for the same". Speaker Om Birla too reprimanded members saying, " I urge members to discuss but without having facts we should save ourselves from hailing allegations. I urge that in the time of the session, we should run the operations."

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Opposing the Taxation and other laws, 2020 in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Friday, brought up the PM-CARES fund in the debate. Tewari claimed that the PM-CARES fund must have been formed through legislation as it has the institution of the Prime Minister attached to it. Congress has also demanded PM-CARES be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) instead of a private firm, as it is a public fund receiving crores of funds by corporations, citizens and foreign entities.

Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi to ensure 'PM-CARES Fund's audit' due to PSU contributions

PM-CARES fund debate in Lok Sabha

In response, Finance MoS Anurag Thakur lashed out at Congress alleging that the Opposition was against PM-CARES Fund just for the sake of it. Listing Congress' opposition to EVMs, Jan Dhan, demonetization, Triple Talaq  & GST, he claimed that the Opposition only wished that the truth was defected. He also created a controversy stating that ' Former PM Nehru established Prime Minister's National Relief Fund in 1948 like a royal order'. Lok Sabha was adjourned for 30 minutes after ruckus over Anurag Thakur's comments on PM-CARES fund.

SC rules PM-CARES funds can't be directed to transferred to NDRF; dismisses plea

Auditing of PM-CARES

The public fund - PM-CARES which is not audited by CAG, was audited by 'independent auditors appointed by the trustees'. As per the audit report released on September 2, the emergency fund has a balance of Rs 30,76,62,56,047. The report informed that Rs 3076 crores were received till March 31. However, the audit report failed to disclose the amount received post-March 31 till date. Out of the total amount, 30,75,85,32,045 has been received through domestic contributions while 39,67,748 Rs came in through foreign contributions.

PM-CARES releases audit report, over Rs 3076 crore in fund; Chidambaram raises questions

What is the PM-Cares fund?

On 28 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund), where citizens can contribute to aide the government's efforts in supporting those affected by disasters. This fund will provide relief to the affected from any walk of life dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation. The fund is chaired by PM Modi and includes Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking transfer of PM-CARES donations to the NDRF. 

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