Bengaluru, March 6 The Karnataka BJP has slammed the Congress government over the misuse of funds reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST), saying that "the curse of Dalits' tears will not spare it".
BJP leaders slammed the Congress-led government in Karnataka at a massive protest held on Thursday at Freedom Park in Bengaluru by the Committee Against the Misuse of Funds Allocated for Scheduled Castes.
Speaking at the protest after accepting the committee’s invitation BJP State President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra questioned, where has CM Siddaramaiah’s concern for Dalits gone? Did he forget about his concern for Dalits after coming to power?
Vijayendra further criticised CM Siddaramaiah, stating that he came to power in the name of AHINDA (a coalition of minorities, backward classes, and Dalits) by promising to wipe the tears of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. However, he is responsible for this dark day.
“Siddaramaiah is an experienced Chief Minister, and I do not call him incapable. But is he helpless? Or has he simply forgotten his concern for Dalits?" Vijayendra asked.
“Haven't you misused the funds meant to empower the Dalit community? Is this justice, Siddaramaiah?” Vijayendra further questioned.
“Mr. Siddaramaiah, when the BJP government was in power and B.S. Yediyurappa was the Chief Minister, we never made empty promises like you. Our government provided infrastructure to Dalit colonies and built concrete roads. Siddaramaiah, where is your concern for Dalits now?” Vijayendra asked.
Vijayendra urged CM Siddaramaiah not to make the mistake of misusing SEP (Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan) and TSP (Tribal Sub-Plan) funds under any circumstances. If Dalits shed tears, their curse will not spare your government, he warned.
Karnataka ranks 10th in the country in terms of Dalit fund utilisation. But when the BJP comes back to power, our government will ensure that Dalit welfare spending is the highest in the entire country, he asserted confidently.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, also spoke at the protest.
He said that the SEP-TSP is a special scheme designed to uplift oppressed Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The funds are meant for providing education, purchasing land, drilling borewells for water, and supporting industrial establishments.
However, the government has misused these funds for other purposes, which is a betrayal, he alleged.
The Dalit community does not travel for free in buses, nor do they engage in luxuries. But you have diverted the funds meant for our special programs into your own accounts, he accused. Isn’t this a betrayal of our people? He questioned.
“We have more educated individuals in our community now, but unemployment is also rising at the same rate. "Yuva Nidhi exists only on paper, but our people have not benefited from it," he said.
Senior leader of the Republic Party, M. Venkataswamy, former minister and BJP state vice-president N. Mahesh, BJP state general secretary P. Rajeev, former MLA Sampangi, community leader Hariram, Dalit leader Jagannath, leaders C.N. Ramu, Munikrishna, Satish, P. Murthy, Muniraju, Ramesh, Mahesh, and various Dalit organisation leaders participated in the protest.
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