The former Union Minister and leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded that the Union government restore the funding to the social sector to its original level and also criticised the discontinuation of funding to the Backward Region Grant Fund, the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sushaktikaran Abhiyan and other projects.
Talking to presspersons here on Sunday, Mr. Kharge said that the Centre could not put the responsibility on State governments to take up welfare programmes to help the oppressed sections.
“There would not be any uniformity in taking up welfare measures for the deprived sections of the society and also the deprived regions in the country if the centre starves funds for centrally-assisted programmes,” he said
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In participatory democracy and federal system, Mr. Kharge said that the continuation of centrally assisted programmes is a must and this would ensure monitoring of the implementation of various welfare measures to help the deprived sections of the society. Mr. Kharge said that the cut in the social sector funding in the 2015-16 budget was more than Rs. 60,000 crore and this was due to the pro-corporate and pro-rich policies of the Centre.
The decision to reduce corporate tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent was taxing the exchequer and its first victim was the social sector funding. “The present government policy appears to be to rob the poor and help the rich to become richer,” he said.
He also criticised the decision to sack Mizoram Governor Aziz Quereshi and said such decisions would send wrong signals in a democratic set up.
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Congress leader says continuation of centrally-assisted programmes is must