AAP govt in Punjab betrayed SC community, alleges BJP leader Sampla

Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Oct 12 (PTI) BJP leader and former Union minister Vijay Sampla on Sunday accused the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab of betraying the Scheduled Castes (SC) community and indulging in mismanagement in various central welfare schemes.

Addressing a press conference here, Sampla said the AAP government, which had promised to appoint a Dalit deputy chief minister, has "failed to honour even a single major commitment" made to the SC community.

"They neither appointed a Dalit deputy CM as promised nor extended the respect and representation due to the community," he claimed.

Sampla alleged that several central schemes meant for the welfare of SCs were either not implemented or were "misused" in Punjab.

"The post-matric scholarship scheme for SC students, which functions smoothly across India, is deliberately mishandled in Punjab. The Centre contributes 60 per cent of the funds and the state 40 per cent," he said.

Sampla further alleged that the state government had "failed" to clear the backlog of jobs reserved for Scheduled Castes and had not fulfilled its promise to raise the 'Shagun' assistance for the Dalit families to Rs 51,000.

"Neither has the amount been increased nor have the beneficiaries received the assistance. This is a betrayal of the poor and SC sections," he said.

The BJP leader said the Mann government also "failed" to properly implement the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Punjab, depriving Dalit families of promised 'pucca' houses.

He said AAP's claims of working for Dalit welfare were "nothing but political stunts aimed at grabbing votes".

Sampla also accused the state government of "massive mismanagement and corruption" in handling the devastating floods that hit Punjab this year, calling it a "Mann-made disaster".

Citing the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report of 2023, he alleged that the government "diverted" the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), meant for flood prevention, relief and rehabilitation, to other expenditures.

"The CAG report clearly shows that the AAP government did not maintain a separate SDRF account, which is mandatory under financial rules," he said.

Sampla further said the AAP had promised to set up a medical college in Hoshiarpur but even after more than two years of laying its foundation stone, no progress had been made.

"The Centre has already released funds for five new medical colleges in Punjab,” including those at Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala,” but the state government has not even floated tenders," he claimed. PTI COR CHS KVK KVK