Bengaluru, 4 March

Accusing the Siddaramaiah-led government in Karnataka of diverting funds meant for the development of SC/ST communities to fund its guarantee schemes, opposition BJP on Wednesday questioned top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's silence on what it termed as "SC/ST Funds Chori".

Leaderof Opposition in the state Assembly R Ashoka, accused the government of "stealing" from the SC/ST community, to fund their "hollow promises".

"Will Rahul Gandhi speak up about this SC/ST Funds Chori in Karnataka?" he asked in a post on 'X', as he also urged CM Siddaramaiah to give a "concrete commitment" to stop this serial misuse of funds in his Budget speech on March 6, or face the "absolute fury" of the people.

Noting that the Karnataka Congress government's "Guarantee" politics has hardened into a "chronic betrayal", Ashoka said that this administration has systematically looted funds meant for the most vulnerable for three consecutive budgets.

"This is no longer a temporary fiscal adjustment; it is a calculated, year-on-year loot of the resources that belong to the Dalit and Tribal communities of Karnataka. To fund their hollow promises, they aren't just borrowing, they are stealing from the very sections of society they claim to protect," he added.

Asking how a government can divert a staggering Rs 39,000 crore meant for the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) while still pretending to care about equity and social justice, the opposition leader said this money is legally mandated for the education, health, and fundamental empowerment of our SC/ST brothers and sisters.

"Instead, for the third year running, it is being treated as a personal piggy bank to cover up the chief minister's total fiscal failure. Out of the Rs 42,018 Crore officially allotted, nearly Rs 35,000 Crore is being siphoned off for Guarantees, leaving a measly Rs 7,000 Crore for actual development," Ashoka said.

Questioning where Rahul Gandhi is now, Ashoka said, "He travels the country shouting 'Jitna Abadi, Utna Haq' (rights proportionate to population), but in the only major state his party rules, he is presiding over a 'Dalit Anyay' (injustice against Dalits) of historic proportions."

"Is this the 'Haq' (right) he promised? To siphon off Rs 39,000 crore from the mouths of Dalit and Tribal children to pay for his party's political survival?" he further asked, adding that Rahul Gandhi's silence on this "SC/ST Funds Chori" proves that his slogans are nothing but a "hollow election gimmick".

Alleging that the hypocrisy is staggering, Ashoka sought to know why the SC/ST community is always the first to be sacrificed at the altar of Congress's "freebie" politics.

"This is a direct, repeated assault on the legal rights of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. If Chief Minister Siddaramaiah does not start his Budget speech with a concrete commitment to stop this serial misuse of funds, he will face the absolute fury of the people," he said.

BJP stands in total solidarity with the 70+ organisations ready to fight this institutionalised injustice, Ashoka said, "Touch the SCSP/TSP funds again, and we will make sure this Budget burns in the fires of public outrage."

Urging Siddaramaiah to "stop the loot", he accused the Congress of being "Dalit Virodhi".

Meanwhile, there was no immediate reaction from Congress to this accusation.