Priyanka Gandhi Vadra seeks government audit of PM CARES fund

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday sought an audit of the PM CARES Fund, saying transparency will be good for the government and public in times of coronavirus crisis.

On March 28, the Centre set up the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund with the primary objective to deal with any kind of emergency situation like the one currently posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and provide relief to those affected.

She said when the public is anguished and there is scarcity of food, water and cash, "the authorities are taking Rs 100 from everyone for the PM CARES Fund and thus it would be appropriate to have an audit of the same".

The Congress general secretary also posted on Twitter a letter of the district authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi where officers have been asked to ensure donation of Rs 100 from all concerned.

"A suggestion: When the public is anguished and there is scarcity of ration, water and cash, and the government is taking Rs 100 from everyone for PM CARE fund, then it would be appropriate from every aspect to have a government audit of the fund.

"There should also be accountability for writing-off Rs 68,000 crore of bank thieves who fled the country," she said in a tweet in Hindi.

"Transparency before the public is important at the time of crisis. It will be good for both the public and the government," she said.

The Congress has questioned the government over setting up of a separate PM CARES Fund by the prime minister for fighting coronavirus, demanding that the same be merged with the PM National Relief Fund.