FH Jakkappanavar.
Belagavi: The discussion took an embarrassing turn for the Congress during ‘Question Hour’ in the Council when a nominated member of the ruling party on Friday alleged that funds to the tune of Rs 500 crore had been misappropriated in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj in the past 10 years.
Congress MLC F H Jakkappanavar pointed out that every Gram Panchayat (GP) was mandated to earmark funds for the welfare of Scheduled Castes under the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act. “But in the past 10 years, not a single Gram Sabha has been convened for the SCs, resulting in the diversion of Rs 50 crore every year,” said Jakkappanavar. BJP MLCs urged Chairman Basavaraj Horatti to give more time to Jakkappanavar so he could disclose more information. However, Horatti assured the BJP of earmarking half-an-hour to discuss the issue next week.