RSS leader Kalladkka Prabhakar Bhat has denied the allegation by B. Ramanath Rai, Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada, that the Sri Rama Vidya Kendra Trust has misappropriated the Kollur Mookambika temple grant to the two schools of the trust in Bantwal taluk.
The trust has maintained a statement of expenditure of funds. They have been audited. It is open for review by government authorities, he told The Hindu.
Mr. Bhat said the Sri Rama Vidya Kendra, Kalladkka, and Sri Devi Vidya Kendra, Punacha, were receiving grants of around ₹50 lakh every year towards food, uniform and textbooks for about 2,500 students since 2007-08. He said that the trust had refused funds from the government towards midday meals as it was already getting funds from the temple. Otherwise, there would be a double grant for the same purpose. Hence, the trust wrote to the government to stop the grant for midday meals.
On Mr. Rai’s suggestion that the trust can write to the government for grant for midday meals for students in high schools, he said that the trust would take a call on it.
Mr. Bhat said the two schools were providing value based education to students and not sowing seeds of communalism among students. He also denied allegations that the trust was getting funds from Hindi and Kannada film actors for the two schools. He blamed the government for making the students protest on B.C. Road on August 11 over the issue. The students had not been tutored to protest by holding empty steel plates and bowls on that day, he said.
