Chandigarh: The issue of Dalit welfare has once again come to the fore after the Punjab Congress declared Dalit Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as its Chief Ministerial candidate.
It may be recalled that Channi gave a clean chit to the rich institutions, which siphoned off scholarships meant for Dalit students. Those involved in the scam were let off by recovering the amount along with interest. It means that there will be no legal action against organisations and their owners. All this was done by the Punjab government before the elections.
It may be noted that earlier Minister for SC Welfare Sadhu Singh Dharamsot had to resign due to his alleged involvement in the Scheduled Caste Scholarship scam.
The Punjab Cabinet had decided on May 31, 2018, to take action against the institutions, which have withdrawn more than Rs 50 lakh, in connection with Post Matric Scholarships. On January 1, before the election code of conduct came into effect, the Cabinet has decided that there was no justification for criminal action against the institutions, which have deposited the amount. The scheme was audited for the period 2011-12 to 2016-17, in which irregularities were found.
After that, the Chief Minister issued an order to review the audit on January 19, 2019, which resulted in a huge reduction in the amount. Minister for Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Raj Kumar Verka had said on October 23, 2021, that 100 institutions have arrears of Rs 100 crore under the scholarship scheme. He said that after seeking the opinion of the Advocate General, it has been asked to register a case against such entities. However, it has to be done.
The Punjab government had identified 70 entities that took more than Rs 50 lakhs and total arrears were found to be Rs 101.51 crore. However, it was found to be Rs 56.64 crore after reviewing following a fiat from the Chief Minister. In all, 24 educational institutions have deposited said amount out of 70. While Rs 25.23 crore is still pending.
Following pressure from the private organisations, the government has cleared these agencies of police cases. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has twice attended the functions of the two private universities involved in these suspected institutions.
It is noteworthy that Kripa Shankar Saroj, Additional Chief Secretary of the then Social Justice and Empowerment Department of the Government of Punjab, on 24 August 2020, submitted an investigation report to the Chief Secretary of Punjab on 24 August 2020 in which Rs 55.71 crore scam was exposed. A total of Rs 39 crore from the scam amount was allegedly transferred to the accounts of fake educational institutions with the connivance of corrupt officials.
A renowned private University of district Mohali was also involved in the scam and it was found guilty of embezzling Rs 23.43 crore when the audit was conducted and after the review, it was declared that the amount was Rs 3.08 crore. Similarly, a special audit of a reputed private university in the Jalandhar district had revealed an amount of Rs. 7.23 crore, which was reduced to Rs. 3.42 crore after the review. Another private varsity of Bathinda district was found siphoning off Rs 15.58 crore and the amount was reduced to Rs 1.72 crore after the review. Rs 12.91 crore towards a private university in Kapurthala has been reduced to Rs 1.04 crore after the review. However, fearing a police case, these universities have reimbursed the amount.
In this regard, outgoing Cabinet Minister Dr Rajkumar Verka said that the representatives of educational institutions had met CM Charanjit Singh Channi at whose request the Cabinet, after deliberation on January 1, had given relief to the institutions, which had returned the suspected amount of the scholarship scheme. Relevant departments had been told for action against other institutions. He said that it has been decided not to take any action against the refunding agencies before the issuance of show-cause notices.
Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab President Bhagwant Mann said that the Congress has declared the face of Chief Minister to a person, who was involved in supporting those who embezzled the stipends of Dalit students; it is a matter of regret.
Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal has already submitted a memorandum to the Governor in this regard. He said there is no hope of justice from Congress. But if Akali Dal comes into power, action will be taken against culprits. He also said that it is unfortunate that a person who never thought of Dalits, is made the CM face. It is nothing but cheating Dalits in the state.
Regarding the Punjab scholarship scam, Punjab Congress state vice-president Gurwinder Singh Bali said that a three-member high-level team had investigated the issue and settled the matter. He said that the Channi government had also issued show-cause notices to the educational institutes, which were taking more money in this regard. However, some institutions had already deposited the excess amount in the exchequer before issuing the show cause notice. He alleged that the opposition parties were indulging mudslinging to corned the Congress though the issue was already settled.
