If PM Cares privately established, why corporate donations under CSR, asks Chidambaram

“Was the Fund set up by the Central government as concluded by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs? If not, who set up the Fund and in what capacity? If the Fund was not set up by the central government, why are the PM and three Ministers serving as Trustees? Who appointed them as Trustees?” he asked in a series of tweets.

“If the Fund is a private established fund, why are donations to the Fund counted against CSR? Will donations to other privately-established funds be also counted against CSR?” he asked.

Referring to reports that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had amended the norms allowing corporate contributions to the PM Cares Fund to qualify as CSR spending under the companies law, he asked “who authorised MCA to make a retrospective amendment to the Schedule to the Companies Act inserting the name of PM-CARES Fund in the Schedule?”

“Will MCA insert the names of other privately-established funds in the said Schedule to the Companies Act? The retrospective amendment in favour of a privately established fund is obviously an act of favouritism and discriminatory. It will be challenged,” he said.

Chidambaram alleged that it is “abundantly clear that the BJP government is making desperate efforts to shield PM-CARES Fund from any kind of scrutiny”.