Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu has appealed to all Members of Parliament to contribute at least Rs One crore rupees initially from their MPLADS funds to supplement the Government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to all MPs, the Vice President referred to the extra-ordinary situation arising from the outbreak of COVID-19 and the plethora of measures being undertaken by the Government of India, and other stakeholders, including the private sector to control and mitigate the situation for the people.
Highlighting the requirement of the enormous amount of resources – financial, material and human, to successfully combat COVID-19, Mr Naidu said the Government of India is pooling financial resources from various avenues to augment the availability of funds at the national, state and district levels.
Observing that their prompt action will greatly help India in its fight against COVID-19, the Vice President requested the MPs to give their consent to centrally earmark an amount of at least one crore rupees initially from their MPLAD Scheme for the Financial Year 2020-21.
Meanwhile, the Vice President also urged individuals to come forward and contribute to the PM-CARES Fund to strengthen disaster management capacities. While appreciating various civil society organizations for providing help to the needy and poor in this hour of crisis, he appealed to people to stay safe and healthy and strictly follow the guidelines issued by the government.
Earlier, the Vice President held a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Secretary Generals of both the Houses and spoke to the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha and leaders of different political parties in Rajya Sabha about MPLADS.
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