Opposing welfare schemes for weaker sections is against Constitution: MLA

Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, said on Friday that political parties should not make an issue out of various facilities being provided to weaker sections of society, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, minorities and backward communities.

He was speaking after distributing cheques under various schemes, including Swalambana, Shramshakthi, Microloans, Arivu, Ganga Kalyana and housing loans, to members of minority communities at a function organised by the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation here. These cheques were provided to women and women self-help groups belonging to minority communities.

Mr. Madhwaraj said that Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities constituted 24 per cent of the population in the State while the minority communities constituted about 10 per cent of the population and the backward communities 50 per cent.

These communities taken together constituted about 80 per cent of the population in the State. These deprived communities had to be provided certain basic facilities as per the Constitution. Some political parties made an issue out of the facilities being provided to some of these communities which was clearly against the letter and the spirit of the Constitution.

The loans and subsidy being provided under various schemes to women and women self-help groups would help them pursue jasmine cultivation, marketing of fruits and flowers and starting small businesses, among others. “It is incumbent upon women and women self-help groups to promptly repay loans,” he said.

Mr. Madhwaraj said that some unscrupulous persons were collecting money and promising to provide facilities from Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation. The Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation had not appointed any contractor or middlemen for providing facilities.

Meenakshi Bannanje, president of the Udupi City Municipal Council, Sandhya Kumari, vice-president of the municipal council, and Veronica Cornellio, chairperson of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd., were present.