BSP president Mayawati on Thursday called for immediate and honest efforts to ensure that steps taken by the central government to mitigate the problems of people hit hard by the coronavirus-induced lockdown reach the ground-level. The former UP chief minister also said that the Rs 1000 crore announced by the PM CARES Fund Trust for migrant labourers should be directly provided to the most affected states like Uttar Pradesh.

The PM CARES Fund Trust on Wednesday decided to allocate Rs 3,100 crore for fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the amount will be used, among other things, to purchase ventilators and care of migrant workers. Out of the Rs 3,100 crore, nearly Rs 2,000 crore will be earmarked for the purchase of “Made-in-India” ventilators and Rs 1,000 crore for care of migrant labourers.

In a tweet, the BSP president said there should be immediate and honest efforts to implement steps taken by the Centre to mitigate the suffering of people.

“Also the Rs. 1000 crore announced for helpless/marginalised migrant labourers should be directly provided to the most affected states like Uttar Pradesh so that it could become a real support for them… and the poor/labourers are not forced to migrate further.”

2. साथ ही, लाचार/मजलूम करोड़ों प्रवासी मजदूरों के लिए जो 1,000 करोड़ रु की घोषणा की गई है वह यूपी जैसे अति-प्रभावित राज्यों को सीधे मिलनी चाहिए ताकि यह उन्हें उनके अपने पाँव पर खड़े होने का वास्तविक सहारा बन सके व गरीबों/मजदूरों को आगे पलायन करने हेतु विवश न होना पड़े। 2/2

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) May 14, 2020

Amidst reports of migrant workers crisis going home on foot, some getting killed in train and road accidents, the opposition has questioned the use of PM CARES fund. Another report which says the fund will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has also raised many questions.

A news report by NDTV, quoting sources at the CAG office, said, “Since the fund is based on donations of individuals and organisations, we have no right to audit the charitable organisation.”

Following this Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a recent tweet said, “it’s important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public.”

The #PmCares fund has received huge contributions from PSUs & major public utilities like the Railways.

It’s important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 9, 2020