320 legislators come forward to contribute to PM CARES Fund
Questions about the need for a new PM CARES Fund notwithstanding, nearly half of our MPs (Members of Parliament) have until now consented to allocate Rs 1 crore from their respective MPLADS to the recently set up PM CARES Fund to fight COVID-19. The government is hopeful that more MPs will come forward in the days to come, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have reached out to not just their party MPs but those from other friendly parties as well to give their consent to allocate money to the PM CARES Fund. Significantly, as of March 4, 2020, as much as Rs 5,275.24 crore was unspent in the MPLADS, or MP Local Area Development Scheme, funds (see box).
The PM CARES — the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund — was instituted earlier this week to provide relief for Covid-19. The Congress and other opposition parties have questioned the need for setting up the PM CARES Fund when there already exists the PM National Relief Fund (PMNRF). According to the PM’s website, PMNRF had a corpus of Rs 3,800 crore at the end of 2018-19 fiscal.
Until Tuesday evening, only 320 of the 779 MPs (of the total 788) had consented that Rs 1 crore should be allocated to PM CARES Fund from their respective MPLADS. Sources in Parliament, however, said dozens of MPs sent their consent on Wednesday as well. Earlier this week, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had asked MPs to contribute Rs 1 crore from their MPLADS to the PM CARES Fund. They had also asked MPs to contribute a month’s salary to the PM CARES Fund…Read More
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