Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday challenged the Union government and BJP-ruled State governments to enact legislation on the lines of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes Sub-Allocation & Tribal-Sub Allocation (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act, 2013, to ensure allocation of budget in proportion to the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for their welfare programmes.
Moving the Karnataka Appropriation (No-4) Bill, 2023 (or supplementary estimates approved by the Legislative Assembly) in the Legislative Council for the approval of the House, he said that it was the Congress government which enacted the legislation to ensure that funds earmarked under the SCSP-TSP should be used only for the welfare of SCs and STs.
The Chief Minister said that Karnataka government spent about ₹22,000 crore for the SC and ST welfare programmes in five years from 2008 to 2013 (BJP tenure) before enacting the legislation. If the population of SCs and STs stood at 17.1 %, the amount spent on their welfare programmes stood at 15 %. After the Act came into force the amount spent on the welfare of SCs and STs went up to ₹ 82,000 crore during 2013-2018 (during the Congress regime). “This itself revealed how the legislation helped in the allocation of funds for the welfare of deprived sections of society,” the Chief Minister said.
When the BJP members accused the Congress government of “diverting” the SC/ST sub-plan money to implement its guarantee schemes, the Chief Minister hit back and said, “What moral right do you have to speak on social justice? We (Congress) are committed to social justice by enacting a legislation.”
Mr. Siddaramaiah questioned the BJP members why they did not prevail upon the Union government to enact a legislation on the lines of Karnataka if the BJP is committed to provide social justice to the deprived sections.
After heated arguments between the Opposition and the treasury benches, the House approved the Bill.
