Bengaluru, Nov 7 — Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka, on Saturday questioned Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar over the alleged non-payment of around Rs 5,000 crore in Gruha Lakshmi scheme benefits for February and March 2025, and accused the Congress government of preparing to hold district-level conventions without accounting for the pending dues and alleged financial irregularities.
In a statement, Ashoka questioned the state government's decision to organise Gruha Lakshmi conventions across districts when it had failed to provide an account of the money meant for poor women beneficiaries.
He alleged that while there was no accountability for financial irregularities, the state government was making elaborate preparations for publicity through conventions.
Listing the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the scheme, Ashoka said the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had reportedly flagged financial irregularities and serious lapses involving more than Rs 225 crore.
He questioned who would take responsibility for the findings.
He also alleged that payments had been made in the names of 2.88 lakh deceased beneficiaries and sought details of the crores of rupees transferred to the accounts of deceased persons and the amount recovered so far.
Ashoka said the state government itself had acknowledged that Rs 115 crore had been deposited into the accounts of deceased beneficiaries.
He questioned whether any officials had been held accountable or action initiated over the alleged financial mismanagement.
Raising another issue, the Karnataka Leader of Opposition alleged that Rs 46.52 crore had been transferred through 23,262 payments without mentioning bank account numbers.
He sought clarification on who had received the money and where it had gone.
He also alleged that more than 10 lakh beneficiaries had been linked to a single bank account and questioned how such a serious lapse had occurred in the department's verification mechanism.
Ashoka said around Rs 5,000 crore pertaining to two instalments for February and March 2025 remained unpaid to women beneficiaries.
He accused the state government of remaining silent and evading questions when the issue was raised in the Legislative Assembly.
Describing the alleged irregularities as a dark chapter of administrative failure rather than an achievement of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, Ashoka demanded that the state government explain the CAG's findings, identify officials and political functionaries responsible for payments to deceased beneficiaries, and clarify the transactions made without bank account numbers.
He also questioned the alleged linking of more than 10 lakh beneficiaries to a single bank account and asked how much longer eligible women would have to wait for the pending February and March 2025 instalments.
Ashoka accused the state government of taking a contradictory stand in court by saying that women did not have a legal right to receive benefits under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, despite projecting it as a right during the Assembly elections.
He urged the state government to immediately deposit the pending Rs 5,000 crore into the accounts of all eligible women and demanded an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities involving more than Rs 225 crore and transfers to deceased beneficiaries under the supervision of a sitting High Court judge.
He also called for stringent criminal action against officials and intermediaries responsible for irregularities in the guarantee scheme and recovery of the misappropriated funds.
Questioning the moral authority of the state government to organise district-level conventions while the allegations remained unanswered, Ashoka said it should first account for the pending money and address the concerns of women beneficiaries before holding public events in the name of the scheme.
He accused the Congress of using the Gruha Lakshmi scheme as an electoral instrument, treating it as a burden after coming to power in the state and subjecting beneficiaries to procedural difficulties when they sought their entitlements.