SC, ST welfare funds not being diverted for schemes, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

The BJP is spinning propaganda that the SC/ST welfare funds are being used for the implementation of the guarantee schemes, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Thursday.

Speaking after inaugurating the D Devaraj Urs Jayanti and a state-level convention of the Dalit Sangharsha Samithi here, Siddaramaiah asked people not to fall for misinformation on the issue and instead, go by documents. 

Siddaramaiah said this even as Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa said recently that the government is using Rs 11,000 crore under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (SCSP-TSP) for the five guarantees. 

Hailing Urs, Siddaramaiah said the backward classes got reservation only after Urs implemented Havanur panel recommendations amid opposition. He urged Dalits against handing over power to "people with anti-constitutional beliefs."