Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 17 (IANS) The Karnataka BJP unit on Wednesday warned that the party would stage a dharna if Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar does not tender an apology for allegedly lying on the floor of the House regarding the release of pending instalments under the Gruha Laxmi scheme, amounting to nearly Rs 5,000 crore.

Speaking to the media, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka said the Congress-led Karnataka government has betrayed poor women by failing to release pending instalments under the Gruha Laxmi Guarantee scheme. He alleged that Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar misled the Assembly by providing false information.

Ashoka further alleged that Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payments had not been made in several districts and claimed that he had submitted documents pertaining to eight districts as evidence. Warning the government, he said the BJP would not hesitate to stage a dharna if the issue was not addressed.

“While making a statement during the ongoing winter session, Minister Laxmi lied, and we have exposed it,” Ashoka said.

He alleged that Minister Hebbalkar has been absent from the House for the last three to four days and has not attended the session despite repeated requests from the opposition. “Has she gone to the Moon?” Ashoka remarked.

Ashoka claimed that the government has not released the February and March instalments of Rs 2,000 each promised to women heads of families under the scheme, amounting to nearly Rs 5,000 crore.

He said that while the government released payments for subsequent months, it failed to clear the earlier dues, which, according to him, amounted to cheating the beneficiaries. Ashoka alleged that the Minister informed the House that all instalments had been cleared, which he said was false and misleading.

Stating that providing accurate information to the Assembly is the responsibility of a minister, Ashoka demanded accountability and said that if false information was provided, action must be initiated. He also demanded that officials who furnished incorrect data be held accountable.

Demanding an apology from the Minister, Ashoka said Rs 5,000 crore was not a small amount and questioned the government’s intent. He argued that if the government was sincere, it should have cleared the February and March dues before releasing payments for April and May.

Meanwhile, Ashoka also welcomed the Centre’s decision related to the naming of the MGNREGA scheme, stating that Mahatma Gandhi revered Lord Rama and that there was nothing wrong with associating welfare schemes with Lord Rama. He said the BJP follows the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Rama and supported the Centre’s decision in that context.

When asked about the absence of BJP state president and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra, Ashoka said, “He has gone to Delhi to wish the newly appointed national president Nitin Nabin.”

–IANS

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