Within two days after the inflated Amrit Kaal budget presented in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister with tall claims of inclusive development, the baloon of the BJP’s development model has burst. One example of it is the huge cut in the budget of the ministry of minority affairs, read a press release of Social Democratic Party of India.

Abdul Majeed Faizy, national general secretary of SDPI hit out at the government for the slashing of roughly 40 percent to the minority budget. Faizy said with the budget estimate of 5,020.5 crore, the finance minister allotted a budget of 3,097 crore. The FM has further slashed more than 900 crore from the pre-matric scholarship for 2023-24. The budget earlier was 1,425 crore which has now been reduced to 433 crore. Similarly, the allocation for the Educational Scheme for Madrasas and Minorities has been reduced from 160 crore to only 10 crore i.e. a straight 93 percent less.

The SDPI leader said the BJP’s anti-minority stand has deflated its vikas model of inclusive development. The huge cut in the budget of ministry of minority affairs is in addition to the elimination of Maulana Azad Research Fellowship and pre-matric scholarship under the guise of UGC and RTE.