Mamata Banerjee said the state government has released Rs 6,500 crore and more will be needed. (File)
In a veiled attack on the Center for refusing to release details of the PM CARES fund, West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, said on Monday that his government had nothing to hide about the donations it had received.
She said her government has so far obtained a crore of Rs 190 to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and for the relief of Amphan.
She said the state government has released Rs 6,500 crore and more is needed.
He received public donations of about 150 crore rupees to fight COVID-19 and 40 crore rupees for the relief of Amphan, she told reporters at the State Secretariat.
“We have nothing to hide about what we have received. We do not hesitate to talk about it,” she said in a veiled attack on PMO’s refusal to disclose details of the creation and operation. from PM CARES Fund, explaining to an RTI Applicant that the fund is not a public authority within the meaning of the 2005 RTI Act.
The Prime Minister’s Aid and Rescue Fund for Citizens in Emergencies (PM CARES) was created to accept donations and provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic and other similar emergencies .
“We have used all the help we have received from ordinary people for their cause. I can assure that the fund will be used very transparently by the government for public purposes and not for any other cause,” said Ms. Banerjee, who is among the harshest critics of the BJP-led government at the Center, said.
“I thank ordinary people for helping us with this fund. I saw that people helped us with donations of 50 rupees for COVID-19,” she said.
