New Delhi, February 10 The Congress claimed on Tuesday that the Union Budget was a "casteist betrayal" of the Dalits and Adivasis, and alleged "large-scale diversion, dilution, and underutilization of funds" intended for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Addressing a press conference here, the opposition party's head of the SC Department, Rajendra Pal Gautam, and the Chairman of the Adivasi Congress, Vikrant Bhuria, alleged that the budget showed exclusion rather than empowerment of the Dalits and the Adivasis.
They said that while the government has allocated Rs 1.96 lakh crore for SCs and Rs 1.41 lakh crore for STs, only Rs 75,077 crore and Rs 62,093 crore, respectively, have actually been earmarked for targeted welfare schemes.
They alleged that the remaining funds have been merged into generic programs that fail to address caste- and tribe-based exclusion.
The Congress leaders also pointed out cuts in the National Overseas Scholarship, claiming that its allocation has been reduced to Rs 125 crore.
Citing data for 2025-26, they said that although 106 students were selected, only 40 received scholarships due to a fund crunch, leaving 66 students from the SC, ST, and OBC communities without support.