Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on January 15 accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remembering tribals only ahead of elections and said his government is trying to befool the community by changing names of old schemes.
Mr. Kharge also asked why the expenditure on tribals has reduced drastically during the Modi Government.
Mr. Kharge made the remarks after Prime Minister Modi released the first instalment of ₹540 crore to one lakh tribal beneficiaries of a rural housing scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) via video conferencing and said the 10 years of his government have been dedicated to the poor.
"Even though for elections, at least the Prime Minister has remembered the welfare of tribals and various tribes today after 10 years," Mr. Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
"We want to ask three questions to the Modi Government - Why has crime against tribals increased by 48.15% compared to 2013? (NCRB). Why are the double-engine governments of the BJP completely failing to implement the 'Forest Rights Act, 2006'.
"Before this event, why was there a continuous decline in the expenditure of the Development Scheme for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of the Modi Government's Ministry of Tribal Affairs? It has fallen from ₹250 crore in 2018-19 to only ₹6.48 crore in 2022-23. This is what the parliamentary committee says," the Congress chief asked.
Mr. Kharge alleged that the Modi Government is trying to "cheat" the tribal community during the election season by changing the name of the old failed scheme.
"Preservation of water, forest, land and tribal civilisation is our duty and the Congress party will continue to fight for the rights of the tribal society of the country," he said.
Prime Minister Modi said on Monday that the country can develop only if various welfare schemes reach all, asserting that it is his guarantee that everyone — even those in the remotest of areas — will benefit from them.
Invoking Shabari, a tribal woman depicted in the epic Ramayana who served berries to Lord Ram during his stay in forests, the Prime Minister said it is natural for him to remember her when he has undertaken a special religious ritual till the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
"The story of Shri Ram is not possible without Mata Shabari," he said, asserting that she played a big role in the transformation of 'prince' Ram into 'maryada purushottam' Ram.
"Be it the story of 'raja' Ram in Treta Yuga or the current situation, welfare is not possible without uplifting the poor, deprived and the tribals," he said, noting that over four crore permanent houses were constructed for the poor in the last 10 years.
"Mr. Modi has reached out to those who were never cared for earlier," he added.
The budget of many welfare schemes for the Scheduled Tribes has risen by five times and the scholarship for tribal students has grown by two-and-a-half times in the last 10 years, Mr. Modi said, adding that the work is on to construct more than 500 Eklavya model school for them while only 90 existed earlier.
