By IANS,
New Delhi : Allegations by various opposition parties that funds for a special package for Bundelkhand region had been merged in central government schemes led to a brief adjournment of the Rajya Sabha Thursday.
Opposition members, including those from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) accused the government of merging funds of the Rs.7,266-crore package, announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in various centrally-sponsored schemes.
Asking supplementaries on his question, BSP member Ganga Charan said the allocation in special packages should not be included in the allocation of central schemes.
“The grant in a special package should have been in the form of an extra central grant. The prime minister should announce that there is no special package for Bundelkhand,” Charan said.
He said the allocation was given under schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and Indira Awas Yojana.
Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar said the allocations were given under various central flagship schemes as the aim was the same.
The minister said the allocations were part of the special package and said that member’s non-acceptance of this was a “difference of opinion”.
Dissatisfied opposition members, however, raised the pitch and Chairman M. Hamid Ansari adjourned the house for nearly 10 minutes, till 12 noon.
The house resumed its normal business later.
Bundelkhand is a backward region falling in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.