Mandaviya, Tawde BJP's central observers to pick leader of opposition in Karnataka
New Delhi (PTI): BJP president J P Nadda has appointed Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya and party general secretary Vinod Tawde as central observers for the election of the leader of opposition in the Karnataka assembly.
BJP chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni said the two central leaders will be visiting the state in a couple of days to oversee the election of the party's leader in the state assembly by its MLAs.
Following its loss to the Congress in the state polls, the BJP is yet to elect its leader in the assembly, with its central leaders weighing their options.
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai is one of the contenders as the BJP deliberates to decide whether it should stick to the old guard or put faith in a new leader while balancing the caste equation in the state.
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Karnataka Dalit entrepreneurs decry ‘poor’ fund allocation: Report
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Dalit Entrepreneurs’ Association has urged the government to increase the fund allocation in the Department of Industries and Commerce towards the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP).
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, C.G. Srinivasan, the association’s working president, highlighted that only Rs 400 crore — less than one percent of the Rs 42,018 crore earmarked under SCSP/TSP — has been allocated towards schemes such as site allocation, soft seed capital, investment promotion subsidy, and loan processing fees, reported Deccan Herald on Saturday.
Srinivasan noted that between 2017 and 2019, Dalit entrepreneurs received 50 percent capital assistance for setting up shops and businesses. In 2019, this was increased to 75 percent to encourage more participation, as interest remained low. He shared that this move helped 2,873 Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs gain access to nearly 2,613 acres of land for entrepreneurial purposes. He pointed out that, however, the overall budget allocation from the Department of Industries and Commerce remains insufficient at just one percent.
He further alleged that Rs 850 crore in grants are still pending under various schemes and flagged a backlog of 271.8 acres of land yet to be allotted to Dalits by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) since 2009.
“There has been severe discrimination in the allotment of old industrial area land where about 25 percent is reserved for entrepreneurs from SC/ST communities,” DH quoted him as saying. He added that many Dalits were given litigated, undulated and unusable lands.
Consequently, several entrepreneurs were penalised for failing to meet the stipulated timelines, as they were unable to start their businesses due to the condition of the allotted land.
The association also called on the government to address corruption within the KIADB, alleging that officials have been denying reservations to Dalit entrepreneurs.
