Bahujan Samaj Party, the main opposition party staged walkout from the state assembly on Thursday protesting against the denial of the benefits of the social welfare schemes to the students of the dalit and OBCs community students. The opposition accused the state government of closing the social welfare schemes thus hurting the interests of the SC, ST and OBCs and also the general category. The opposition alleged many students of the downtrodden and poor sections of the society had to discontinue their studies or their name was struck off from the professional colleges for their inability to deposit the required fee.
Raising the issue through adjournment notice in the state assembly on Thursday the leader of opposition and senior BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya alleged that the government has stopped reimbursing the scholarship money to the students of SC, ST, OBCs and general category students thus creating obstacles for them to pursue the professional courses. He said the government announced myriad populist schemes for the youth like the free laptop and unemployment allowance but it was denying them the most basic facilities like the reimbursement of the fee for continuing their studies.
Maurya said though the students of the deprived sections were facing hardships across the state due to denial of the fee reimbursement, the students of the few VIP districts like Etawah and Mainpuri seems to be doubly blessed as there was no dearth of money for the VIP districts.
The government however denied the charge. Opposing the notice the parliamentary affairs minister Azam Khan said the state government is committed for protecting the interests of the poor, disadvantaged sections of the society and the lapses if any would be rectified.
The leader of opposition speaking on the admissibility of the notice said during the last financial year 2014-15 not a single penny was released during the entire year and on the last day of the financial year on March 31 this year the entire budget allocation for this head of expenditure was released. The BSP leader alleged that instead of reaching the intended beneficiaries the funds were consumed by the dragon of corruption.
Maurya also alleged that to deprive the dalit community students of the benefits of the fee reimbursement scheme the cut off merit was increased to 60 percent marks during the last financial year 2014 -15.
He said the cut off merit was reduced as the students pursued the matter with the authorities but the damage was as not a penny was reimbursed to them and many had to quit the college and return to their respective village. He said the SP government first scrapped the scheme of providing financial assistance to poor for medical treatment and marriage of their daughters now the same crisis stares the fee reimbursement scheme. The Speaker Mata Prasad Pande later rejected the notice.