Bengaluru, Jul 5 (PTI) Karnataka BJP on Friday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of utilising Rs 14,800-crore funds meant for the Scheduled Caste Sub-plan and Tribal Sub-plan for the five guarantees.

The party said the funds meant for the welfare of downtrodden communities were diverted to fulfil the poll promises.

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In a post on 'X' (formerly Twitter), Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka alleged that the chief minister has "squandered" the funds for the SC/ST welfare on the pretext of funding the five guarantees.

According to Ashoka, Rs 7,881.91 crore of SCSP-TSP has been utilised for 'Gruhalakshmi' scheme, Rs 70.28 crore for 'Bhagyalakshmi' scheme, Rs 2585.93 crore for 'Gruhajyoti' scheme, Rs 448.15 crore for 'Annabhagya' scheme, Rs 2,187 crore for the direct benefit transfer of 'Annabhagya' scheme, and Rs 1,451.45 crore for 'Shakti' scheme and Rs 175.50 crore for 'Yuva Nidhi' scheme.

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The BJP leader alleged that the state government has already embezzled Rs 187 crore belonging to the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.

The chief minister defended the move claiming that the SCSP-TSP funds were spent on par with the SC/ST population in the state.

"Most of the beneficiaries of these guarantees are from SC/ST communities," the chief minister claimed.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)