Minority welfare: Karnataka's BS Yediyurappa govt cuts funding by 44%

The B S Yediyurappa administration has slashed funds for minority welfare schemes by 44%, or Rs 468 crore, as a result of which programmes that covered Muslims, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs have been discontinued this financial year.

According to information tabled in the Legislative Assembly by Minority Welfare Minister Shrimant Patil, five schemes have been dropped in the 2020-21 financial year as no allocation was made for them: Construction of Muslim convention halls (Shaadi Mahals), skill development for minorities, Bidaai (Shaadi Bhagya), Chief Minister’s Minorities Development Scheme and financial assistance to Jain, Buddhist and Sikh communities.

Not just that, the state government has cut funds for several ongoing programmes aimed at minorities. They include funds for development of Christians, learning interventions in state-run minority schools, Vidyasiri stipend, training for competitive exams and new hostels.

In all, the allocation for minority welfare that was Rs 1,418.98 crore in 2019-20 has come down to Rs 950 crore this fiscal.

Bidaai was launched by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in which a Rs 50,000 one-time marriage assistance was given to minority women, where it was originally intended only for Muslims. Over one lakh women have been covered under the scheme since inception. “There were 32,516 pending applications in 2019-20 and each one was given Rs 25,000 in a one-time settlement for which Rs 81.29 crore was released,” Patil told the Assembly in a written reply.

“The BJP’s attitude towards minorities is known. But, as a government, they have to take every community into confidence,” KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed said.

The government plans to set up a Maulana Azad Trust with a corpus of Rs 25 crore to provide modern education to backward Muslims.