Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah slams Centre over SC/ST welfare budget allocation

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 31 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticised the Centre, questioning the moral authority of the Union Government to challenge the state government when it unjustly uses budget funds meant for the rightful development of Dalits by not implementing the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan/Tribal Sub-Plan (SCSP/TSP) schemes at the national level.
Siddaramaiah said, "Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is shedding crocodile tears for Dalits, has called for questioning the Karnataka Government regarding SC/ST welfare. If you care so much about Dalits, implement the SCSP/TSP scheme, and allocate 25 percent of the Union Budget in proportion to the Dalit population, then come to question us. Until then, it would be wise for you to remain silent. Our Government's budget for the current year is Rs 3,71,383 crore, out of which Rs 39,121 crore has been allocated for SCSP/TSP schemes. The Union Government's budget for the current year is Rs 48.21 lakh crore, of which only Rs 2,90,401 crore has been allocated for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes."
Launching a scathing attack on Nirmala Sitharaman, he said the budget clearly showed whom the Centre is favouring. "This is exactly what our leader Rahul Gandhi pointed out in the Lok Sabha. You are depriving 75 percent of the population and feeding 'halwa' to 25 percent. It is the fear of your anti-Dalit policies being exposed that makes you oppose the Caste Census," he said.
He noted that in Karnataka, there were no large-scale protests to implement the SCSP/TSP Act. "Yet, the Congress Party in the state included it in the 2013 election manifesto out of genuine concern for the Dalit community. After coming to power, we implemented the Act in 2014-15, fulfilling our promise," he said.
For the past 10 years, he has been urging the Union Government to implement the SCSP/TSP Act at the national level, just as it is in the state. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently rejected this demand. It is laughable that those who have ignored this demand for so long are now shedding crocodile tears, claiming the Congress Government in Karnataka is being unjust to Dalits," he added.
Before the implementation of the SCSP/TSP Act, the special component plan for the welfare of the Dalit community in the state allocated Rs 8,616 crore in 2013-14. "In 2014-15, when the SCSP/TSP Act was implemented, the allocation was Rs 15,894 crore. This amount has now reached nearly Rs 40,000 crore. This demonstrates the Congress Government's concern for the Dalits in the state," he said.
"Not only this, but our government has also increased the reservation for Scheduled Castes from 15 percent to 17 percent and for Scheduled Tribes from 3 percent to 7 percent as per the recommendations of Justice H N Nagamohan Das Committee. We have reserved 24.1 percent of government contracts up to Rs 1 crore for SC and ST contractors, decided to apply reservation to contract-based appointments, amended the PTCL Act to prevent unauthorised transfers of land granted to SC/ST families, and provided a 75 percent subsidy for industrial plots allocated to SC/ST entrepreneurs. All these measures have been implemented only in Karnataka," Siddaramaiah said.
He asked Nirmala Sitharaman whom the Dalits should question first. "The state government, which has implemented a series of schemes for the welfare of Dalits, including the SCSP/TSP Act, or the Union Government, which has committed an injustice by not giving even the rightful share to Dalits in the Budget?" he added.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused BJP MP Anurag Thakur of "abusing and insulting" him in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on the Union Budget on Tuesday.
Anurag Thakur entered into a heated argument with Rahul Gandhi during his speech in the Lower House of Parliament, saying that those whose caste is unknown are speaking on the issue of caste census.