Laxmi Hebbalkar in Assembly
Credit: DIPR
Belagavi: Women & Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar on Wednesday apologised for providing wrong information to the Karnataka Assembly on payments under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, but not before the Opposition raised a furore and finally walked out.
Last week, the BJP had accused Hebbalkar of “lying” to the House. On December 9, the minister insisted that payments were made to beneficiaries up to August. The BJP, however, produced documents showing payments were not made in February and March.
“I had said that we've cleared payments up to August. That was the information I had. Later, when I checked, I found that there was a problem in February and March. It doesn’t mean money was diverted,” Hebbalkar said.
“I want to tell members that my intention wasn’t to provide wrong information or mislead the House. I’ll ask the finance department about this. I express regret if anybody was hurt,” Hebbalkar said.
The BJP was not convinced with the minister’s reply.
“Why won't she say that she made a mistake? She didn't apologise,” Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said. Law Minister HK Patil urged the Opposition to drop the issue. “She has expressed regret. Let's end this here,” he said.
Senior BJP lawmaker S Suresh Kumar said the minister should apologise unconditionally. “Instead, she’s expressing regret if somebody is hurt.”
Hebbalkar, a first-time minister, said the government has paid Rs 52,416 crore to 1.26 crore Gruha Lakshmi beneficiaries till date. “This scheme is intended to empower women. I express regret. But if you don’t like that word (regret), I’ll apologise,” she said.
In a parting salvo, Hebbalkar accused the Opposition of targeting her as she is a woman. “You’re doing this because I’m a woman,” she said, angering the BJP. Supporting her, Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil said: “Targeting a woman isn’t right. What message are we sending to the state?”
Kumar said the Opposition would have raised the issue even if the minister in question was a man. “Let’s not play the victim card. We have respect for our sister,” he said.
The Opposition walked out in protest against Hebbalkar’s "unconvincing" clarification.