New Delhi:Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for raising questions on the PM-CARES Fund on Tuesday. He has also accused Gandhi of weakening India’s COVID-19 fight.
During a presser, Prasad alleged that money from NDRF fund was given to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation during the government of Congress-led UPA.
Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad Speaking to media persons, Prasad said, "Rahul Gandhi, from day 1, has used coronavirus to create disunity in the nation. Rahul Gandhi never spared any opportunity to weaken the national resolve in the fight against Covid-19."
"Transparency is writ large in PM-CARES Fund both in terms of legal requirement and transparent management of funds received on a voluntary basis. Our government has not faced even a single accusation of corruption. When the perfect time will come, all the things of PM-CARES Fund will be on the website and the audit will be done according to the rules," said Prasad.
"It is not like the family-run Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which received money from China and also Prime Minister's National Relief Fund," he added.
"Rs 3,100 crore has been given from PM-Cares Fund to fight corona till now. As many as 50,000 ventilators have been provided for COVID patients through the PM Cares Fund. Rs 2,000 crore has been given for ventilators. Rs 100 crore has been given for vaccine research and Rs 1,000 crore to help migrant workers," the Union minister said.
"Rahul Gandhi was against lockdown, even made fun of PM’s initiatives like the lighting of diyas and banging of utensils or clapping for doctors and nurses. Today, all the countries are adopting similar measures," said Prasad.
"The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was a family foundation and it is known to all that it also received help from China. In the report of that foundation, there was also talk of opening India's market for Chinese products. But the Modi government has been working with complete sincerity, it also gets the blessings of the public and this honesty is also reflected in the PM-CARES Fund," he said.
"The PM Cares Fund is a registered public trust for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman. Today our government has completed 6 years, we are in the seventh year and I can say with great pride that no one in our cabinet has dared to make allegations of corruption so far.
Reportedly, the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea seeking transfer of all contributions made to PM-CARES Fund till date to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), a statutory fund created under said act.
Speaking about the fake news and hate speech, Prasad, said, "I have responded to Rahul Gandhi’s tweet through a tweet. As far as other issues are concerned, the BJP’s IT cell has informed that 700 pages of BJP supporters were removed from the social media site Facebook. This is also a reality. Prasad also said that Gandhi’s party had no locus standi to question the BJP given previous allegations of Congress having used online platforms to influence elections in India.
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