Paswan now wants ‘his’ quota of central funds

NEW DELHI: The quota enthusiasts in the Manmohan Singh government have found a fresh cause: funds quota. Two days after the Union Cabinet announced that 15% of the allocation would go to the welfare of minorities, a leading member of the Manmohan team, Ram Vilas Paswan, on Friday revived the demand for “proportionate allocation” of central funds for Dalits and STs. The SCs and STs account for 22.5% of the population.

In its anxiety to contain the political fallout of identity-based formations like Assam United Democratic Front and copycat outfits in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, the government had on Thursday cleared the proposal for allocating 15% of central funds for the welfare of minorities.

Although many in the government were sceptical about the political potential of this move, the government cleared the proposal under pressure from the Congress leadership.

Citing the Cabinet’s decision, Mr Paswan and other Dalit leaders have revived their funds quota campaign. According to them, the government’s decision to reserve funds for minority welfare is an acknowledgement of the legitimacy of their demand for a Dalit funds quota.

Mr Paswan had raised the demand for 22.5% funds for SCs and STs when Congress’ Meira Kumar attempted to emerge as a prominent Dalit leader by advocating job quota in the private sector. Mr Paswan saw it as an attempt by Ms Kumar to emerge as a challenger to his Dalit support base, at least in Bihar.

At the sub-committee meetings of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Dalit affairs, he first demanded the establishment of model Dalit villages covering inhabitations with at least 40% Dalit population, and then hit upon the idea of asking the government to set aside 22.5% of the annual Budget on Dalit welfare.

The GoM members, who thwarted Mr Paswan’s attempts, feel that it would not be difficult to deal with the steel minister’s demand. “We had managed to drive home the point that allocations for most ministries are indivisible. And that large chunks of almost all social welfare programmes are already being spent on Dalits.

For instance, 40% of the funds allocated under the Indira Awaas Yojana were earmarked for Dalits. The Cabinet’s endorsement of 15% allocation for minorities will embolden Mr Paswan to bring back his demand,” said a member of the GoM.