Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

Meagre allocation for SC/ST welfare criticised

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUPATI, MARCH 23. The former president of Bharatiya Janata Party, Bangaru Laxman, has accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of acting against the interests of the weaker sections by slashing the allocation to SC/ST welfare in the recently announced budget.

Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, he recalled that while the Congress-led UPA had assured in its Common Minimum Programme (CMP) to work for the introduction of reservations in the private sector, no step had been taken in that direction so far.

On the divergent views aired by the Finance and Social Welfare Departments, he said the departments speaking different languages on welfare schemes exposed the incongruity at the highest level. He said the pinch of drought was felt more by the SC/ST farmers, who formed seven per cent of the farming community. "The socially oppressed are left with no option but to migrate to the nearby towns in search of employment and settle as labourers," he said.

He alleged that the UPA Government was bent on doing away with the welfare schemes announced during the NDA regime.

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