Ongole: Congress demands release of pending scholarships, allowances

Ongole: Former Union Minister Dr Chinta Mohan demanded the State government to release scholarships and allowances immediately that are pending for the last two years. He alleged that the government is discriminating against SC, ST, BCs and minorities while rebranding the schemes of the Union government in the name of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

At a press meet here on Thursday, the special invitee to Congress Working Committee, Mohan said the government has no respect for Dalits. He pointed out that the State government has failed to celebrate the centenary of Dalit, poor and honest Chief Minister of the State, Damodaram Sanjeevaiah, by advertising his services in the media. The decision of privatising Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Plant at Krishnapatnam, while the Dalits were celebrating his centennial birth anniversary, shows the government's discrimination against SC, ST, BC and Minorities in the State, he alleged.

Mohan said that privatisation of Krishnapatnam Thermal Plant will also damage the assurances

of nine-hour free electricity scheme introduced by the Congress government.

Dr Mohan further criticised that the government was also not concerned about poor SC, ST, BC and Minority students and kept their scholarships, fees, pocket money, cosmetics and book allowances pending for the last two years.

He said that with the initiation of Dr BR Ambedkar, Congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi introduced scholarships, finance corporations for SC, STs and protected them with SC, ST Act. "But the State government is diverting public funds for fees reimbursements, mess charges and other allowances as Jagananna Vidya Deevena and Jagananna Vasati Deevena in the name of the Chief Minister," he criticised.

The Congress leader demanded the government to release dues of scholarships and allowances and allow SC, ST, BC and Minority finance corporations to work with funding by April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, to prove that the CM cares for them.

Mohan alleged that the Union government was making several mistakes but helping Adani to become the richest man on the continent. He questioned the Union Finance Minister on what assurance and whose influence, the State Bank of India is lending Rs 2.50 lakh crores to Adani. He also demanded the audit report for the Rs 10,400 crore donations received and Rs 3,400 crore expenditure met with the PM Cares Fund account. He also questioned why the Government of India was not ordering an inquiry on the allegations that Dassault paid Rs 65 crore to middlemen to increase the cost of each Rafale fighter jet from Rs 526 crore fixed in the UPA government to Rs 1,670 crore in the BJP-led government, to close the Rs 59,000 crore deal to procure 36 aircrafts.