Govt ducks question on PM CARES Fund in Rajya Sabha
The PM CARES Fund remains shrouded in secrecy, with the government refusing to disclose details about donations received and funds spent.
Questions asked by DMK MP Kanimozhi NVN Somu in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday regarding the total donation received by the PM Cares Fund failed to elicit any response from the government with the MoS, Health, Prataprao Jadhav ducking the question.
In his written answer to the starred question by Kanimozhi regarding preparedness for future pandemics and financial assistance given to Tamil Nadu for tackling pandemics, Health Minister JP Nadda said financial support of Rs 893.74 crore, Rs 479.59 crore and Rs 615.95 crore was provided to Tamil Nadu under three different packages during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asking the first supplementary question during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Kanimozhi said the PM Cares Fund was registered as a public charitable trust on March 7, 2020, to create a financial reserve in case of health emergencies. “It is still receiving funds,” the DMK MP said, adding that she would like to know the total donations received for the fund till date and the money spent from the fund so far.
Kanimozhi also asked if any step was being taken to pass a new legislation to formulate internationally binding rules and regulations to govern health emergency funds.
Answering the question, Jadhav sidestepped the question about PM Cares Fund and talked about the steps that were taken for tackling the pandemic in Tamil Nadu. When Kanimozhi protested saying Jadhav had not answered his question, Nadda intervened and said, “Your question does not relate to PM Cares Fund. It relates to preparedness for the pandemic. Answer has been given in detail.”
CPM MP AR Rahim also raised concerns about post-Covid deaths and asked whether the government had studied long-term effects of the pandemic. Dissatisfied with Nadda’s response, Rahim later walked out of the House.