Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi for raising questions on the PM CARES Fund, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday alleged that money from NDRF fund was given to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation during the government of Congress-led UPA.
"Rahul Gandhi questioned PM Cares Fund but the Supreme Court has shot down all his arguments. PM CARES is a registered public trust for Covid-like emergencies. Gandhi has never missed an opportunity to weaken resolve of the nation in its fight against the virus," the minister said, adding that NDA is an honest government.
Recently, the BJP had released documents it claimed were proof that during the Manmohan Singh era, money from the Prime Minister's relief fund was diverted and donated to the Rajiv Gandhi foundation. Sonia Gandhi is chief of the foundation and the board includes Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, P Chidambaram and Manmohan Singh.
PMNRF, meant to help people in distress, was donating money to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in UPA years. Who sat on the PMNRF board? Smt. Sonia Gandhi Who chairs RGF? Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Totally reprehensible, disregarding ethics, processes and not bothering about transparency. pic.twitter.com/tttDP4S6bY
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 26, 2020
BJP President JP Nadda also described the Supreme Court decision on the PM CARES Fund as a "resounding blow to the nefarious designs" of Rahul Gandhi and his "band of rent a cause" activists.
"The verdict by the Supreme Court on PM CARES is a resounding blow to the nefarious designs of Rahul Gandhi & his band of rent a cause' activists. It shows that the truth shines despite the ill intent and malicious efforts of the Congress party and its associates," Nadda tweeted. Hitting out at Gandhi, Nadda said his "rants" have been repeatedly dismissed by the common man who has "overwhelmingly" contributed to the PM CARES fund.
The apex court has refused to direct the Centre to transfer the contributions made to the PM CARES Fund for battling the Covid-19 pandemic to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan held that PM Cares Fund are about voluntarily donations to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and the budgetary allocations are in the form of a public trust.
On the other hand, NDRF is a statutorily created fund, which has nothing to do with the PM Cares Fund, noted the court. It added that people are free to make donations in either of the two, and that the government, in its discretion, can also transfer money from PM Cares to NDRF.
LIVE TV
