An FIR has been filed against Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi over tweets on Prime Minister Citizen Assistance Relief In Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund by Congress' official handle. The FIR, registered in Shivamogga district of Karnataka, identifies Gandhi as the handler of the social media account, news agency ANI reported. The FIR, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153 and 505, by one K V Praveen alleged that the Congress party shared some misleading tweets about the PM CARES Fund on May 11.
"They called PMCARES fund a fraud. They said on their twitter that it is not being used for public & that PM is going on foreign trips using this fund. These are rumours against govt in #COVID19 situation, so I filed a complaint (against Sonia Gandhi)," ANI reported citing KV Praveen Kumar as saying.
Congress party had recently raised questions on the transparency of the fund. PM-CARES should be made transparent since a substantial amount of money has been taken through donations, Congress had said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also stressed on the need for Modi to ensure that the fund is audited. He also said that the record of money received by and spent through it should be made public. "The PM-CARES Fund has received huge contributions from PSUs and major public utilities like the Railways. It's important that the PM ensures the fund is audited and that the record of money received and spent is available to the public," he had tweeted.
PM-CARES Fund was set up in March 2020, following the coronavirus pandemic in India. The fund aims to be used for combating, containment and relief efforts against the coronavirus outbreak and similar pandemic like situations in the future.
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