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Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 2: The Centre's decision to accept contributions from abroad to PM-CARES fund for fighting COVID-19 has prompted social media users to take potshots at it as Kerala was not allowed to receive foreign aid after the devastating floods in 2018.

Senior Congress leader Sashi Tharoor said accepting relief for coronavirus pandemic does not affect "one's ego", while other reactions varied from taking a dig saying 'Vikas has reached new heights" to asking where is the country's pride.

Government sources have said a decision had been taken to accept contributions from abroad to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES) to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Narendra Modi government had earlier turned away foreign aid, including a reported Rs 700 crore donation from the UAE, to help Kerala during the floods that devastated the southern state, while "deeply appreciating" the offers from various nations then.

Over 480 people were killed, several had gone missing during the worst floods in a century that also rendered lakhs homeless and dealt a severe blow to the state's economy.

"Flood relief for Kerala hurts ones ego. Pandemic relief doesnt. Go figure! #PMCARES!" tweeted Tharoor, who represents Thiruvananthapuram in Lok Sabha.

Another twiterratti reacted to the Centre's latest move, saying: "Wow.. a nation that built 3,000 crore statue is B3GG!NG now? Sad!"

"Vikas has reached new heights... Where are the proud Modi Bhakts?" another wrote.

"Thanks but no, says India to foreign aid for Kerala", another social media user tweeted, tagging a 2018 news report on MEA Spokesperson saying the government was committed to meeting the requirements for relief and rehabilitation in Kerala through domestic efforts.

"Pandemic is unprecedented, India has taken a decision to accept foreign donations to the PM fund. But....", "5 Trillion begging bowl", "Where did the 'National Pride' go now?" another tweet asked.

The Centre's present decision marks a shift from its earlier position of not accepting foreign donations to deal with domestic crisis.

"In view of the interest expressed to contribute to Government's efforts, as well as keeping in mind the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, contributions to the Trust can be done by individuals and organisations, both in India and abroad," a government source has said.

It said the fund was set up following spontaneous requests from India and abroad for making generous contributions to support the government in its fight against COVID-19.

On Saturday, Modi had announced setting up of the PM CARES fund.

More and more Indians have become better prepared in the last one month, as far as stocking of their ration, medicine or money is concerned, according to the IANS-CVoter COVID-19 Tracker.

With the second leg of the lockdown half way through and Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying it's a long haul, 57.2% respondents said they have less than three weeks of stock while 43.3% said they have a stock that will last beyond that

However, if one breaks into weeks, most respondents said they are prepared for a week's time. 24.5% respondents said they have ration, medicine or money to last a week. This is closely followed by 21.9 % respondents saying they are ready for a month.

Meanwhile, 20.4 % said they are ready for a couple of weeks. There are 15.8 % who said they are ready for more than a month with food, ration and medicine. A tiny 5.6 % said they are ready with three weeks of stock.

However, there is 12.3% who still seem to live on the edge with less than a week's preparation.

But, the biggest takeaway from the IANS-CVoter COVID-19 Tracker is that in the last one month, a massive segment of society realised that the fight is long and the preparation should also be to last that long.

o put things into context, on March 16 when the tracker started, a whopping 77.1% said they have stock to last for less than a week. More than a month later on April 21, that number jumped to just 12.3%, which essentially means, people have become better prepared for a long-hauled lockdown period.

Similarly, on April 21, a sizable 21.9% respondents claimed they are ready with ration and medicine that will last them a month. On March 16, not even one respondent could claim they have a month's stock. In fact till March 22, just ahead of the announcement of the first lockdown, no respondent the IANS-CVoter tracker said that they have a month's preparation.

Similarly, when the tracker started, 9.9% said they simply ‘don't know'. As on April 21, that number is a big zero.

New Delhi, Apr 21: Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, who has been booked by the Delhi Police for holding a religious congregation here during the lockdown, on Monday urged the followers of the organisation to pray at home in the month of Ramzan.

"I request all, both in India and abroad, to strictly follow the guidelines and instructions of the local or national governments and till the time restrictions are in place and please observe prayers at home. And even in this, we should not invite people from outside," he said in a statement.

Ramzan begins later this week.

While addressing an online briefing on Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cited the Tablighi Jamaat congregation last month, a major hotspot, and the large inflow of travellers from other countries to Delhi as the reasons for the spread of the virus, and said the city was "fighting a difficult battle".

The Delhi Police crime branch, had on March 31, lodged an FIR against seven people, including the cleric, on a complaint by the Station House Officer of Nizamuddin police station for holding the congregation in alleged violation of the orders against large gatherings to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Later, the Indian Penal Code Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was added to the FIR.

The cleric is wanted by the Delhi Police and he responded twice to them. He is currently under home quarantine.

In an audio message released earlier this month, Kandhalvi had said he was exercising self-quarantine after several hundreds who visited the congregation at Nizamudddin Markaz tested positive for coronavirus.