The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Morcha of the BJP staged a protest in Udupi on Thursday, August 10, against the State government for allegedly diverting funds meant for the welfare of Dalits and tribal people to implement the guarantee schemes.
Addressing a gathering, the party’s SC Morcha State general secretary Dinakar Babu claimed that the government had diverted ₹11,000 crore under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan to implement the guarantee schemes. Social Welfare Minister H.C. Mahadevappa should not have agreed to this proposal, he said.
He said the BJP would launch Statewide protests if the funds were not restored. It would also organise campaigns to create awareness among SC and ST people on how the government had “deceived” them, he said.
Uday Kumar Shetty, BJP Mangaluru division in charge, said the Congress should have assessed the financial implications of implementing the five guarantee schemes before announcing them. The government now diverting the funds of Dalits and tribal people was not acceptable, he said.
The former MLA for Udupi K. Raghupathi Bhat said the decision taken to divert the funds was nothing but a clear case of atrocity on the community people. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah only poses as the leader of the oppressed communities by targeting and abusing the forward communities, he alleged.
