Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (MS)

Bengaluru, Mar 8: The BJP government in the state led by chief minister B S Yediyurappa has put brakes on the former Congress government's populist 'Shaadi Bhagya' scheme for minorities.

The 'Shaadi Bhagya' (Bidai scheme) was introduced by the Congress regime led by former CM Siddaramaiah. Under this scheme, Rs 50,000 was being given to couples from minority communities to bear the expenses of marriage and also buy essentials for living.

However, no provision was made for Shaadi Bhagya scheme in this year's budget by CM Yediyurappa.

Minority MLAs U T Khader, Zameer Ahmed Khan, N A Harris, Rizwan Arshad and Tanveer Sait had met the CM and urged him not to stop the scheme. The CM had assured these MLAs that he would have a discussion with his cabinet colleagues on the subject.

However, now an order issued by the directorate of minorities has asked officials concerned not to accept any new applications under the scheme with immediate effect, as no provision has been made for the same in the budget presented for the fiscal 2020-21.

The scheme was popular among people from all minority communities, with the demand increasing to three times the budget allocated for the scheme. According to a Right to Information (RTI) response obtained in 2019, 28,540 of the over 1.10 lac applications received since the scheme’s inception in 2013 were pending. The beneficiaries however often faced problems as funds were not released on time.