An open letter to PM Modi on his ‘pakoda' statement
Mr. Prime Minister,
In a TV interview recently, you asserted that a person is earning Rs. 200 a day selling pakodas is also an employed person. Many people took offense to this statement, claiming that your promise to generate one crore jobs is a hoax.
While we appreciate the fact that you recognize street vending as employment, the harsh realities under which street vendors carry out their livelihood has been lost in your statement. Street vending is an independent and dignified profession. We are proud to be street
vendors.
However, we cannot take away the context in which we have become street vendors. It is out of distress of migrating to a city, of drought in villages, agricultural crisis reeling in this country, and more importantly lack of employment options that we have resorted to treet vending.
Moreover, education has become a costly affair for millions of people in the country. In fact, you are further distancing it from the people by decreasing the budget outlay for education, which you presented yesterday. The poor in this country cannot get an education, but there are no job options for those educated either. And even when we want to earn a decent livelihood of street vending, we face
harassment and threats of evictions from various authorities on a daily basis.
Even when the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihoods and Regulating Street Vending) Act, 2014 was passed by the UPA II Government, very few State Governments have implemented the legislation. The Act grants a right to livelihood to us street vendors and is intended to provide solace to us from all the harassment. However, we continue to be left out of public spaces; police officers demand hafta, municipal authorities threaten to evict us, residents call us dirty, that we obstruct traffic, and other
such unreasonable allegations are made against us. It has been four years since the Act came into force and four years since you have been the Prime Minister of India.
If you thought this was an honorable profession, why do we continue to be perceived as a nuisance? The Lieutenant General of Delhi ordered massive evictions, in blatant violation of the 2014 Act. Why has no action been taken against any authority across the
country for trying to evict vendors? What have you, Mr. Prime Minister, done for us street vendors? When you sat in opposition to the UPA Government, you vehemently opposed Foreign Direct Investments in Retail – against Walmart and Target entering our country. However, you have now approved 100 percent in single-brand retail. This will no doubt harm small businesses, including us street vendors. To add insult to injury, your ‘smart cities' project is ensuring complete evictions of street vendors.This project is not only affecting our livelihood, but is taking away our right to shelter as well. The smart city has become synonymous with evictions of street vendors and slums. Your vision of development does not include us, sir. Instead, your policies are increasing the number of dispossessed people every day. There is no respite for us from poverty. So, where is our acche din? When you demonetized the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes, us street vendors were the most affected. You want to make India cashless.
Do you expect our customers to swipe money into our phones for a dozen banana? In addition to this, you've introduced GST. It is wiping out small usinesses who source small items for us to sell.
Sir, we do not want a ‘Smart City,' we do not want a ‘Digital India,' we do not want ‘Make In India' or your ‘Swacch Bharath,' if it doesn't allow municipal workers, construction workers, slum dwellers, and street vendors to live with dignity. We want public education, public health system, and public housing! You are shirking your responsibility to provide us all of this and are instead privatizing our entitlements. Yes, it is employment if a person sells pakoda on the streets. But, do not use us as an excuse for your inability to provide jobs to the citizens of this country, and going back on your promise. On the contrary, we street vendors stand on our abilities
and hard work.
We will fight against anyone who takes away our rights!
Yours Sincerely,
Bengaluru Jilla Beedhi Vyapari Sanghatanegala Okkuta
Contact: 9880316961, 9880595032, 9686757053
Email: bvokkuta@gmail.com
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LoP Ashoka accuses Karnataka govt of 'diverting' SC/ST funds for guarantees
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, on Tuesday accused the state government of "diverting funds" meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the SCSP and TSP components to finance its guarantee schemes. He also alleged that the budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has undermined the principle of social justice.
During the discussion on the 2026–27 state budget in the assembly, the BJP leader claimed that substantial portions of funds earmarked for Dalit welfare had been diverted for other schemes over the past four years.
He also questioned the implementation of allocations under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), saying the government has "failed" to ensure that the money actually reached the intended communities.
“Today, the money here has been diverted. In this diversion of funds, social justice has been ignored. If the money meant for Dalits is looted, can that be called social justice?” he asked while criticising the government’s handling of SC/ST allocations.
According to the opposition leader, around Rs 14,198 crore had been diverted in the current financial year alone from SCSP and TSP allocations to various guarantee schemes announced by the government.
Listing the expenditure under these programmes, the former Deputy CM said Rs 8,296.32 crore had been allocated for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, Rs 1,537 crore for Shakti, Rs 1,612 crore for Anna Bhagya, Rs 2,591.6 crore for Gruha Jyothi and Rs 1,062 crore for Yuva Nidhi.
“In total, Rs 14,198 crore has been diverted this year,” he said.
He further claimed that the diversion of funds had increased over the years.
“In 2023–24, Rs 11,144 crore was taken from SC/ST funds. In 2024–25, Rs 14,282.68 crore was taken. In 2025–26, Rs 13,343.84 crore was taken. In 2026–27, Rs 14,198.97 crore has been taken.”
“This amount keeps increasing year after year. In total, Rs 53,059.45 crore belonging to SC/ST communities has been taken during Siddaramaiah’s tenure,” he added.
Ashoka said that although the budget documents projected large allocations for Dalit welfare, the actual funds reaching the beneficiaries were significantly lower.
The government had earmarked Rs 44,632 crore for SC/ST communities in 2026–27, but once the diversion towards guarantee schemes was removed, the effective amount available was much less, he added.
The BJP leader also referred to a review meeting on January 31 to examine the utilisation of SCSP and TSP funds.
As per the review, Ashoka said only a part of the sanctioned amount had actually been released and spent.
“For SCSP, Rs 29,872 crore was allocated, but by January 27, only Rs 16,699 crore had been released, and the expenditure was Rs 15,391 crore."
Similarly, under the Tribal Sub-Plan, he alleged that Rs 11,900 crore had been allocated, but only Rs 6,521 crore was released and Rs 6,002 crore spent by the end of January.
“Even after eleven months, only about 50 per cent of the funds were released by the Finance department.”
Ashoka also criticised the allocation of SC/ST funds to departments and schemes that he said had little direct relevance to the welfare of those communities.
These included wildlife conservation programmes in the forest department, the tiger conservation project, maintenance of hospital buildings, and IT policy formulation.
“How are Dalits related to wildlife conservation? Are there SC tigers and ST elephants? How can funds meant for Dalits be used for tiger conservation?” he asked.
He also objected to funds being allocated from SC/ST components to institutions such as the Sanjay Gandhi Trauma and Orthopaedic Institute in Bengaluru and for Public Works Department buildings.
The opposition leader also charged that the government hiked taxes and prices of various commodities and services ranging from milk to petrol, vehicles, drinking water, sewerage cess, electricity, metro rail and bus fare, school and college fees, property taxes in Bengaluru, property e-Khata fee, A-Khata conversion, exam fee and birth and death certificate issuance.
“People are being taxed for digging cellar. The mines and geology department has issued notices to people. This is unheard of for me,” Ashoka said.
