BENGALURU: With the Electoral Bonds now declared unconstitutional, a few individuals are of the opinion that PM Cares Fund needs to be probed, and there should be transparency in the flow of money, and what the fund has been used for.
“PM Narendra Modi claims he brought in transparency through Electoral Bonds, but was exposed. The public has a right to know what the PM Cares Fund is being used for, and how much was spent for what purpose,” said AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge.
“Welfare funds have gone to this fund and to the RSS. Today, RSS has taken direct or indirect control of Sainik Schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas. The government has handed over several schools to them. Whose property is it? If private organizations are given control of schools, what happens to reservation? Will the poor be given seats in such schools? Modi is destroying poor people’s hopes and handing over this country to rich people. So far, he has shown no account of how much has been spent, no one knows who has contributed and how much, and like Electoral Bonds, there is no accountability,” he said.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan Lokur told TNIE, “There should be transparency and the competent authority dealing with private trusts should look into this.’’
Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister Kapil Sibal too was highly critical of the secrecy surrounding the fund. “The PM doesn’t care to tell anybody who the donors are. It is public money, for public expenditure, and should be subject to public scrutiny. But like Electoral Bonds, it has been kept under wraps. Wonder what will be revealed if the names of donors are made public,” he said.
“It is the most corrupt activity of this Prime Minister. The way the account is created and managed shows it is corrupt,” said former senior IAS officer MG Devasahayam, who is part of the Constitution Conduct Group, a set of retired senior bureaucrats who believe in speaking truth to power, and not affiliated to any political party. “Any fund collection has to be transparent, and this opacity shows an institutional collapse. Why this secrecy from government auditing and RTI? Have the funds been used to develop the personality of the Prime Minister, who appears to be bigger than the party?’’
Political economist Parkala Prabhakar said the PM Cares Fund is housed in the Prime Minister’s Office, South Block, New Delhi, it uses the official Indian emblem and its web address ends with gov.in, so how can the government justify that it doesn’t come under RTI? “It’s a scam waiting to be revealed and could be bigger than Electoral Bonds. Government employees donated a day’s salary and CSR funds from PSUs were transferred to it. The government is not telling us where it is getting money from and what it is spending it on,” he said.
Responding to Kharge’s charges, former BJP media coordinator S Prakash stated, “As Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, he is expected to react responsibly. Every year, the PM Cares Fund is audited by independent auditors, and everything is uploaded on the website. He should take time and read it.”