BENGALURU: Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra on Monday alleged that the Congress was treating Scheduled Tribes as a mere vote bank since India’s Independence, while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for efforts to empower the community economically and socially since 2014. He pointed out government initiatives aimed at recognizing tribal culture and traditions.
Addressing a meeting of the BJP’s ST Morcha at the party’s state headquarters ‘Jagannath Bhavan’, Vijayendra highlighted Modi’s decision to declare November 15, the birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda, as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’ (Tribal Pride Day). This, he said, acknowledges the role of tribals in India’s freedom struggle and their efforts to preserve indigenous culture and traditions.
To support his claims about increased funding under the Modi government, Vijayendra cited annual allocations for tribal welfare from the central budget which was Rs 4,427.96 crore in 2014-15, steadily increased to Rs 6,000 crore in 2018-19, Rs 7,524.87 crore in 2021-22, Rs 12,461 crore in 2023-24, Rs 13,000 crore in 2024-25, and Rs 14,925.81 crore earmarked for 2025-26.
Vijayendra claimed these figures are unprecedented in independent India’s history, and asserted that no government had allocated such substantial resources for tribal development. Contrasting this with the Congress, he described Modi as a leader “rooted in Indian culture and tradition” who considers all sections of society.