BENGALURU: Former home minister and senior BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra on Monday accused the Congress government in Karnataka of diverting Special Component Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (SCP/TSP) funds allocated for SCs/STs, water resources, social welfare, rural development and panchayat raj, transport and other departments to implement the five guarantees.
Initiating a debate on the budget, Araga alleged that of the Rs 34,000 crore allotted for SCP/TSP, over Rs 11,000 crore has been diverted towards the guarantee schemes. He said the previous BJP government had set aside Rs 16,531 as grants under SCP/TSP and the present government shows the figure as Rs 22,158 crore.
“It looks like a bigger amount than what we set aside. But in reality, of the Rs 22,158 crore, the present government has diverted Rs 10,275 crore towards Anna Bhagya. Similarly, the BJP had allotted Rs 18,868 crore for transport and the Congress government Rs 15,023 crore. Of this, Rs 2,800 crore has been diverted towards the Shakti scheme,” he alleged.
Araga said that tax collection during the BJP government was 108% whereas during the earlier Congress government (2013-2018) it was just 67%. “Karnataka grew at 6.5% in 2018, whereas it is 7.9% in 2023. Monthly GST collection in 2013-2018 was Rs 2,345 crore whereas it is Rs 14,590 crore now. CM Siddaramaiah in his budget misled by saying there was no development during the BJP rule,” he said.