Govt diverting SC scholarship funds: Jakhar

Wednesday, 08/04/2015

http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/

Patiala MLA Preneet Kaur and CLP leader Sunil Jakhar address a press meet in Nawanshahr on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: Malkiat Singh

Nawanshahr : The Congress today expressed solidarity with SC students who were lathicharged while protesting over the non-reimbursement of their fee under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme two weeks ago. Around 20 party MLAs led by Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar accused the state government of diverting funds, withholding the amount released by the Centre for a year and making contradictory statements on the issue in the Assembly.

Addressing a rally adjoining the DC office here, Jakhar said Minister for Welfare of SCs and BCs Gulzar Singh Ranike, in a reply to his query, stated in the Assembly on March 25 that Rs 376 crore had been released for 3,05,977 SC students across the state and that there were no dues pending.

“This incident (lathicharge on SC students) happened just two days after the session closed, thus exposing the lies of the government. I referred to the copies of the Governor’s address in the House on March 12 in which he had said that only Rs 53.45 crore had been given for 94,995 SC students. There clearly is a huge gap in the amount quoted by the minister and the Governor for which there has to be an answer,” he said.

The CLP leader said he also cross-checked from colleges. “I called up the Principal of DAV College, Jalandhar, who told me that he had Rs 2 crore pending from the government. I was told that almost all colleges in Doaba have their dues pending and it is only Lovely Professional University which has received the amount. DAV College, Abohar, authorities also said they had Rs 75 lakh due on the same account. The government is clearly making false claims and diverting funds for running the government,” he said.

“Before this incident, I and legislator Tript Rajinder Bajwa had asked in the Vidhan Sabha as to when the government received the amount and when it was released. They themselves admitted that the funds that came from the Centre on August 30, 2013, were released on August 28, 2014. They kept diverting the funds for running the government as they had been doing earlier. After the students could not bear with the delay and lodged a protest, they went barbaric and ordered the police to lathicharge them. Such incidents did not happen even during the British rule.”