Minority budget allocation inadequate, says Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Karnataka
Bengaluru: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Karnataka said the allocation made for minority welfare in the state budget was inadequate when compared to the community’s population share and development requirements.
Addressing reporters, on Saturday, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Karnataka president Mohammed Sa’ad Belgami said the state budget with a total outlay of ₹4.48 lakh crore had earmarked around ₹3,400 crore for minority welfare programmes and schemes.
He pointed out that minorities constitute nearly 15 percent of Karnataka’s population, but the allocation for their welfare accounts for less than one per cent of the total budget.
“Allocating not even one per cent of the overall budget outlay for minorities raises serious questions about equity and proportional representation in public spending,” Belgami said.
He also referred to the Congress party’s election manifesto, which had promised that annual allocation for minority welfare would be increased to ₹10,000 crore.
According to him, the current allocation marks a decline from the previous figure of ₹4,700 crore, which had constituted about 1.18 per cent of the total budget.
Belgami said minority communities continue to face gaps in access to quality education, employment opportunities, housing and support for entrepreneurship.
In this context, he said stronger measures were needed to expand scholarship schemes, strengthen minority educational institutions, promote skill development and encourage entrepreneurship among minority youth.
He urged the government to take concrete steps in future budgets to ensure adequate resources are provided for the educational, economic and social advancement of minority communities in the state.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
