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BJP MLAs stage walkout over unpaid Gruha Lakshmi arrears
BJP MLAs staged a walkout in assembly, accusing Minister Hebbalkar of misleading on delayed Gruha Lakshmi scheme payments; she later expressed regret.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) MLAs staged a walkout of the state assembly on Wednesday after they accused the woman and child development development minister Laxmi Hebbalkar of misleading the House over the issue of delayed payments under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme.
The exchange centred on allegedly unpaid instalments for February and March under the flagship scheme, which provides a sum of ₹2,000 every months to female heads of families.
Earlier, on December 12, in response to a question by BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginakai , who flagged the unpaid arrears, citing records, Hebbalkar, in her written reply, said that all payments till October were duly disbursed.
During the Wednesday session, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka sought clarification on Hebbalkar’s reply. He demanded that the minister be summoned and issue an official apology for allegedly misleading the House. Sloganeering erupted as BJP MLAs entered the Well of the House in protest, which led to proceedings subsequently being adjourned for over an hour.
“The minister should have told Tenginakai earlier that she would verify the details and respond,” said Ashoka after the House reconvened, reiterating the demand for an apology.
Responding to Ashoka, Hebbalkar acknowledged that payments under the scheme had not been made for February and March. “My intention was not to mislead the House,” she said, adding that she had maintained that dues had been cleared till October. “However, when I checked, I noticed that two months’ instalments were not paid to the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). If my reply has hurt anyone, then I express my regret,” she said.
She assured legislators that she would take up the issue with the chief minister and the finance department and said the pending amounts would be released soon.
The BJP remained dissatisfied, arguing that the minister was unwilling to clearly admit her mistake. “Why won’t she say that she made a mistake? She didn’t apologise,” Ashoka said.
Meanwhile, senior ministers and Congress legislators stepped in to defend Hebbalkar. Law minister H K Patil urged the Opposition to move on, saying the minister had expressed regret. To this, senior BJP leader S Suresh Kumar said that an unconditional apology was required.
Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar also stepped in to defend Hebbalkar, attacking the BJP, in particular, over the Union Budget.
“Despite Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing ₹5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project in the budget, the money was not given to Karnataka. You should question that as well,” he said.
Hebbalkar, a first-time minister, told the House that the government had so far paid ₹52,416 crore to 12.6 million beneficiaries under the scheme. “This scheme is intended to empower women. I express regret. But if you don’t like that word, I will apologise,” she said. She also accused the BJP of targeting her because she was a woman, which BJP MLAs dismissed.
( with PTI inputs)
