After Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Abhijeet Dipke questioned the use of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund on Wednesday, citing its latest audit report, attention has turned to what the fund is actually meant form and whether its money can be used to improve school infrastructure.
The PM CARES Fund stood at ₹ 8,452 crore as of March 31, 2025, up from ₹ 7,173 crore a year earlier, according to the latest audit report. Dipke said the money lying in the fund could potentially be used to build around 1,000 new high-tech model schools.
BJP responded to Dipke’s remarks, saying the fund is meant for emergency and disaster relief and cannot be treated as a source of funding for unrelated expenditure. Earlier reporting noted: “A report came out that there is almost ₹ 8,500 crore in the PM CARES Fund, which is not being used anywhere. Earlier reporting noted: His remarks came after audited statements on Monday stated that the corpus of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund rose 17.8% from ₹ 7,173.03 crore in 2023-24 to ₹ 8,452.07 crore in 2024-25.
The party said Dipke’s remarks reflected “theatrics” rather than a grasp of the basic facts. BJP also took a swipe at Arvind Kejriwal, asking when he would take Dipke to Punjab to inspect the state’s so-called “world-class schools”, claiming that people in Punjab are fed up with the government’s claims. His remarks came after recent visits to schools, under CJP’s ‘ School Thik Karo ‘ campaign, in rural parts of Maharashtra, where he said he found the condition of several schools to be ‘very bad’. It’s not being used at all,” Dipke said in a video. Earlier reporting noted: Dipke’s remarks also come amid his ” School thik karo ” drives, where he visits government schools in villages to assess their condition.
