Bengaluru: The Karnataka government’s decision to undertake a fresh verification and revision exercise of beneficiaries under its flagship guarantee schemes has triggered a political storm, with BJP leaders launching a scathing attack on the Congress administration and accusing it of preparing the ground to gradually dilute or discontinue its much-publicised welfare programmes.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and BJP state president BY Vijayendra have strongly criticised the government’s move, alleging that the exercise is not aimed at identifying genuine beneficiaries but is instead a calculated attempt to reduce the number of people receiving benefits under schemes such as Gruha Lakshmi and Gruha Jyothi.
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The controversy erupted after the government clarified that beneficiaries would be required to undergo a fresh verification process to weed out ineligible claimants and ensure that benefits reach deserving families. While the Congress government maintains that the exercise is intended to prevent misuse and remove fraudulent beneficiaries, the BJP has described it as an admission of failure and a betrayal of the promises made to voters before the Assembly elections.
R Ashoka accused the government of creating unnecessary hurdles for lakhs of women and poor families who are already receiving benefits. According to him, if the objective is merely to remove deceased persons or fraudulent accounts from the beneficiary list, the government has enough administrative and technological resources to do so without forcing genuine beneficiaries to undergo fresh procedures.
He alleged that the government’s financial condition has deteriorated due to what he termed “mismanagement and wasteful expenditure,” forcing it to look for ways to reduce the burden of guarantee schemes. Ashoka claimed that the fresh verification exercise is a disguised attempt to cut down the number of beneficiaries rather than improve transparency.
The BJP leader further argued that forcing people to once again submit documents and complete formalities would lead to long queues outside government offices and service centres, causing inconvenience to women, senior citizens and economically weaker sections. He maintained that the government was trying to create a narrative of eliminating ineligible beneficiaries while actually preparing to reduce welfare spending.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra echoed similar concerns and questioned why the Congress government had not properly verified beneficiaries before launching the schemes. He said the same government that declared lakhs of people eligible during the election campaign is now suggesting that a large number of beneficiaries may be ineligible.
According to Vijayendra, the government is facing severe financial pressure due to the burden of implementing guarantee schemes and is now attempting to scale back its commitments. He pointed to statements made by several Congress leaders and legislators in recent months regarding the financial strain caused by welfare programmes.
The BJP leader argued that if eligibility criteria were important, they should have been clearly defined and implemented from the very beginning. Revisiting the beneficiary lists after three years, he said, raises serious questions about the government’s planning and sincerity.
Vijayendra also alleged that developmental works across the state have suffered because of the financial burden created by the guarantees. He claimed that even members of the ruling party have privately expressed concerns over the impact of the schemes on infrastructure and constituency development.
The Congress government, however, has rejected the BJP’s allegations and insisted that there is no proposal to discontinue any guarantee scheme. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar recently clarified that the verification exercise is intended only to ensure that benefits reach genuine beneficiaries and that instances of misuse are eliminated.
Despite these assurances, the opposition remains unconvinced. BJP leaders contend that the verification process marks the beginning of a phased rollback of the guarantees that played a key role in bringing the Congress to power in Karnataka.
