How can PM CARES not be govt entity with its emblem on it?: KTR

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao slammed the Centre for its response to the Delhi High Court on the PM CARES Fund on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday told the Delhi HC that the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund is not a public authority according to the Right to Information Act, 2005 and not a state under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, but a ‘public charitable trust’.

KTR, while finding faults with the statement, said in his tweet, “Classic case of blatant abuse of Govt machinery by NPA.”

Stating that the fund depicts government machinery all over it, KTR added, “Using Government emblem, PMO, and Government website, still claiming it’s not a Government entity!”

Arguments on PM CARES Fund

A division bench of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Subramonium Prasad was dealing with a plea moved by Samyak Gangwal, seeking a declaration of PM CARES Fund as ‘state’ under the Constitution as it would attract consequential directions for disclosing the Fund’s audit reports periodically, disclosing the Fund’s quarterly details of donations received, utilisation thereof and resolutions on the expenditure of donations.

The affidavit filed by the Under Secretary of PMO to the court said: “This Trust is neither intended to be, nor is in fact owned, controlled or substantially financed by any government nor any instrumentality of the government. There is no control of either the Central government or any state governments, either direct or indirect, in the functioning of the Trust in any manner whatsoever.”

In response, the PMO argues: “The PM CARES Fund is administered on the pattern of Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) as both are chaired by the Prime Minister. Like the National Emblem and domain name ‘gov.in’ are being used for the PMNRF, the same are also being used for PM CARES Fund.”

Besides the declaration of PM CARES Fund as “State” under the Constitution, Gangwal has also sought that PM CARES Fund should be restrained from using ‘PM’ in its names/ website, State Emblem, the domain name ‘gov’ in its website and PM’s Office as its official address.