M Venkaiah Naidu appeals Rajya Sabha members to contribute for COVID--19 relief fund

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday appealed to members of the Upper House to contribute liberally from their MPLADS fund to aid measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

He urged them to contribute at least Rs 1 crore and send consent letters to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

On receipt of consent letters, such contributions will be deducted and placed in a central pool, Naidu said during a meeting.

He also wrote to the members individually making the plea.

Naidu in his letter to MPs 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.

"This is to request you to give your consent in the enclosed form to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation to centrally earmark an amount initially of at least Rs.1 crore from your MPLAD Scheme for the Financial Year 2020-21," he said.

The ministry on Saturday made a dispensation to create such a central pool.

Naidu held discussions in this regard with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh and secretary generals of both the Houses.

He also spoke to leaders of various parties in the matter sources said.