CM misleading people on SC scholarship funds: Jakhar

Our Correspondent

Abohar, May 26

State Congress vice-president and chief spokesman Sunil Jakhar today said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was trying to mislead people by blaming the Union Government for delaying scholarship funds for Scheduled Caste (SC) students.

He said the Union Government had questioned the validity of fund utilisation certificate submitted by the state for 2014-15 but Punjab had so far not submitted the details of scholarship money.

Seeking an explanation from Vijay Sampla, Minister of State for Social Security and Empowerment, Jakhar said the ministry had on July 23, 2015, fixed a meeting with Punjab Social Welfare Department officials to review proposals for scholarships for 2015-16. The meeting was to be presided over by the Union Minister of State but Punjab officials preferred to skip attending the same as they were not in a position to explain the discrepancies in the previous year’s performance.

“It was not possible for the state officials to reveal that funds received from New Delhi under different welfare schemes as these had been diverted to please ruling SAD activists at the CM’s Sangat Darshan programmes,” Jakhar alleged.

He claimed that the Directorate of Social Security Department, New Delhi, had on July 24, 2015, mailed a letter to the Principal Secretary, Social Welfare, Punjab, to explain why the SC scholarship fund utilisation details did not match with the demand raised by different districts.