Suspecting a lack of transparency in the PM Cares Fund, which was set up to help the poor during Covid time, about a hundred former IAS officers wrote a letter. Retired IAS BS Behar, K Sujata Rao, AA Daulat, Anita Agnihotri wrote an open letter. They said they had been looking into the matter for some time and were of the view that there was a lack of accountability and urged the government to take action.
Social activists have written a letter to the PM Cares Fund under the Right to Information Act seeking details of donations to the PM Cares Fund. However, the answer was that the company was not a public authority. They have stated that information cannot be given under section 2H of the Right to Information Act 2005, which states that details cannot be given, which triggered a controversy. The IAS officers in the letter questioned that if the PM Cares Fund was not a public body then why the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister, Defence Minister and Finance Minister are holding key positions in it. Giving such an answer gives scope for raising doubts about PM Cares. With this, a debate has started that when the PM Cares Fund is not public, it will be a private one.
In the past, the PM had set up a care fund to help victims during Covid through the donations received. Criticism came from Congress at the time. Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi too made sensational allegations in June last year. PM Care drew flak for receiving donations from Chinese companies at the same time when the Prime Minister had banned Chinese mobile apps, bringing up the slogans of Made in India and localization. Why this name when it is not a public institution?
PM Cares, also known as the Prime Minister’s Citizens’ Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation, has been formed. That is, the fund was set up with the status of Prime Minister. At the same time, Prime Minister Modi too spoke on this. Large-scale donations were received from across the country. It was rumoured that nearly Rs 3,000 Crore had been deposited in just five days. Huge donations followed. The trustees who are supposed to make the details of these donations and details of the expenses available to the public are saying that it is not a public body. Refusing to give the details has become a topic of discussion. It was against this backdrop that the former IAS officials had written a letter. On the whole, the latest developments in the case of the PM Cares Fund are set to become another political controversy.
