PM CARES Fund Investigation-Demand By Thackeray Amid Enforcement Directorate Actions In Relation To Covid Facility Scam

PM CARES Fund Investigation- Demand by Uddhav Thackeray

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chairman, Uddhav Thackeray, attacked the Central agency and demanded an investigation into the PM CARES Fund amidst the Enforcement Directorate (ED) action towards some individuals related to his party regarding the apparent jumbo Covid facilities “scam.”  Along with this, calling for an inquiry into the operation of the civic authorities of Nagpur, Pimpri-Chinchwad, as well as Pune, Uddhav Thackeray additionally called for inquiries against the governing bodies of Uttar Pradesh as well as Gujarat.

The former chief minister of Maharashtra requested an investigation of the PM CARES Fund while speaking to party members. Additionally, he challenged the government to look into how the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) operated throughout the epidemic. He finally maintained that his party had no fear of the ED inquiry.

Probe the PM CARES Fund as well. The PM CARES Fund does not come under the ambit of any investigation. Lakhs and crores of rupees were collected. Many ventilators were malfunctioning. We will also carry out a probe.

Where did all the cash from the fund vanish, asked Thackery. He claimed that while millions of thousands of rupees are deposited into the fund, however the specifics have never been disclosed. Approximately INR 1,000 crore was donated by Ratan Tata himself. He said that Arvind Kejriwal as well as Rahul Gandhi have also inquired about the funds. He also implied that people who request information face consequences. Finally, it is suggested that in addition to the investigation into the BMC, an inquiry ought to be performed into why the PM Cares fund is not included in the scope of the investigation. He argued that it was urgent to uncover the Prime Minister’s Cares fund fraud.

He claimed that while supporters were praising the Mumbai model for supporting the metropolis’ battle against the virus, critics were disparaging it, an implied insinuation to the BJP. He said that since the Shiv Sena (UBT) had drawn attention to anomalies, Mumbai was being pillaged and COVID fraud claims had surfaced.

A Special Investigation Team, headed by the Mumbai police commissioner, was established by the Eknath Shinde administration to look into suspected violations of INR 12,000 crore which were mentioned in a Comptroller and Auditor General report. Aaditya Thackeray, a past state minister and the son of Thackeray, will organize a demonstration on the first of July against suspected BMC corruption. In order to combat the coronavirus epidemic, the previous chief minister claimed Maharashtra was the first state to construct a field care hospital.

He stated that the BJP controls both Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, both of which frequently made headlines throughout the epidemic for the sharp increase in cases and reports of victims’ bodies supposedly being discarded in the Ganges. He then questioned what had occurred in those two states.

Thackeray said that during the epidemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had created a committee of bureaucrats and given them permission to purchase equipment beyond the scope of the General Framework Agreement.

Thackeray rejected the allegations of corruption and instead branded the BJP as despicable for overthrowing the Kamal Nath-led Congress administration in Madhya Pradesh just when the epidemic was beginning to spread. After MLAs who supported Jyotiraditya Scindia left their seats, the Nath administration was overthrown in March 2020, opening the door for Shivraj Singh Chouhan to lead the BJP.

About PM CARES Fund

As a public charity trust, the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund came into existence in 2020 having the goal of creating a dedicated national fund to address suffering principally due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Defense, Home, as well as Finance Ministers are among the members, while the Prime Minister serves as the group’s chairman.

The ED Raids and Thackeray

While the epidemic had already spread across the nation by March 2020, Raids Thackeray served as chief minister from the end of 2019 to June 2022. Thackeray said that during the epidemic, he dominated the compilation of highest-performing chief minister polls, which caused the BJP stomach anguish because not one of its members could be found in these rankings.

You (BJP-led dispensation) are making a villain of Uddhav Thackeray. People will decide whether he is a hero or a villain. But you are ‘nalayak’ (worthless).

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as well as COVID-19 relief funds were targets of raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the course of a Prevention of Money Laundering investigation related to a major INR 12,000 crore fraud.

The raids mainly targeted BMC employees, vendors, and those connected to the construction of COVID infrastructure throughout the city. Iqbal Chahal, among the putative defendants, has already been questioned by the ED with relation to this case.

Sources claim that among the homes being searched are that of an IAS officer who is very close to Maharashtra’s chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray. Sujit Patkar, a close companion of Sanjay Raut, as well as Suraj Chanav are two other people who have been singled out in the raids.

Chief Minister Eknath Sindhe just a couple of days ago declared the creation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the massive scandal, which includes more than INR 12,000 crore. The anomalies were discovered last year after a special investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed an alleged theft of INR 12,024 crore from BMC expenditures.

The Maharashtra government formed a SIT under the direction of Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar as a response to the CAG’s revelations. The SIT, which is made up of officers from the Economic Offences Wing and top law enforcement personnel, is in charge of doing additional research into the financial irregularities revealed by the CAG report. The ED has yet to issue a formal statement in relation to the current raids and inquiry.  The case has shocked the state and brought attention to how urgent it is to combat corruption and maintain openness in the distribution of COVID-19 relief monies.

 

The homes of Yuva Sena UBT Secretary Suraj Chavan, a close associate of Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray, as well as IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal had been searched by the ED just a couple days prior in relation to the case.

On Saturday, Uddhav addressed his party’s supporters and said that the Tata corporation had donated millions of rupees to the PM CARES fund in addition to the Maharashtra-based BJP officials who had given to the PM’s fund rather than the state’s budget. He claimed that the ventilators provided by the PM CARES fund had not been functional.

He stated cynically, when the PM CARES Fund is unable to be scrutinized, why is it called the PM fund? Is the PM referring to comedian Prabhakar More Fund? Certain BJP MLAs of Maharashtra also contributed to the Prabhakar More Care Fund without paying in their own state. He also stated that they must examine him, but he was going to question them as well.

According to Uddhav, the ED inspections on Suraj Chavan are seen as an impediment for the Thackrays, although Chavan is an ordinary Shiv Sainik. Will BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar’s request for a probe into Thane Municipal Corporation be granted? All local government spending must be scrutinized to see where the BMC went in error, he continued.

The former CM also stated that the ED’s probe is being conducted because they are unable to accept that they performed a decent job throughout the epidemic. According to Uddhav, these expenses were made in accordance with the PM’s directions under the epidemic as well as disaster management acts. Naturally, when faced with an emergency and grave circumstance, one must go above and beyond the regulations to prioritize saving people’s lives and making decisions in relation to allotting contracts. According to the previous chief minister, the Centre also made comparable acquisitions by going above and beyond the laws and regulations.

The ED is looking into potential anomalies in the awarding of a civic contract for a company to run a giant Covid treatment facility. The investigation was launched in response to a complaint submitted by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. Uddhav challenged the BJP to undertake similar investigations in all of the country’s BJP-ruled areas.

If an investigation is to be conducted, it should also include Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). Sanjay Kelkar, Thane MLA and BJP leader, had called for an investigation against the TMC. However, this is failing to be executed. During the course of the Covid time, the head of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s standing committee had been captured red-handed (for corruption). He was a member of the BJP. If the authorities are brave enough, they should also investigate the Thane Municipal Corporation, the Pune Municipal Corporation, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, as well as the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

This government (Shinde-Fadnavis government) was born out of khokes (boxes of money, a reference to horse trading). What will they investigate us? TV debates demanded details of Surat, Guwahati, Goa chartered plane expenses. But it is not given. Let’s take a review of that too. Where did that money come from?

Uddhav cautioned Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis not to cause trouble for his family, stating that otherwise he as well as the Sena (UBT) will do the same. He expressed regret for Fadnavis for stooping to such low depths. He, too, has a family. The WhatsApp conversations of his families are also being leaked. But they have not discussed his family. As a result, he should refrain from discussing his family.

He also stated that he is concerned about his family, which consists of all of his Sainiks throughout the state. This followed the incident when Fadnavis reprimanded Uddhav for attending an Opposition party session in Patna, claiming that the gathering was called to rescue the politicians’ families. Uddhav had convened Sena UBT office holders inside the Shivaji Natya Mandir in Mumbai in preparation for a massive march to the BMC on July 1.

Thackeray correctly pointed out that the authorities and central government were persecuting anyone who questioned their conduct. It was Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi before him, and now it’s him. It is really despairing that public funds generated for the wellbeing of the people cannot be probed to learn the truth about where they are spent. Furthermore, if a scam has occurred, it is the responsibility of the authorities in issue to investigate each and every party and organization even remotely connected to such a scam, regardless of their affiliations or personal biases.