Fact check: Karnataka government not implementing Swavalambi Sarathi scheme to Muslims alone but to SC, ST unemployed too
A post claiming that the Congress-led Karnataka government has announced a subsidy scheme as a gift to Muslims for their uplifting is going viral.
Claim :
Congress-led Karnataka government has announced a subsidy scheme as a gift to Muslims for their upliftment.Fact :
Karnataka state government is providing a subsidy on commercial vehicles to the unemployed of state religious minority SC and ST communities
A social post claiming that the Congress-led Karnataka government has announced a subsidy scheme as a gift to Muslims for their uplifting is going viral on various social media platforms. The post claims that the beneficiaries will be provided with a subsidy of Rs 3 lakh for buying autos, taxis, and goods vehicles.
The post also features a poster providing details about the eligibility and documents required to avail of the scheme. It clearly states that the scheme is for the development of minorities.
Member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya, Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar also tweeted about the scheme, as part of appeasement politics. The claim is as follows: "Buy a vehicle for Rs 6L, using 50% subsidy, sell it the next day for Rs 5L. Cool profit of Rs 2L. Only available for non-Hindus and does not include poor and deprived Hindu communities".
The same post is viral on Facebook also
Fact check
We checked on the Karnataka Minority Development Corporation Limited (KMDCL) website and found scheme details under the name, Swavalambi Sarathi. The scheme was introduced by the Karnataka government to encourage self-employment among youth belonging to the minorities, SC and ST communities.
According to the Karnataka government, minorities includes Muslim, Christian, Buddhist Jain, Sikh and Parsi religious communities.
According to the KMDCL notification, the scheme is being implemented in collaboration with nationalised and scheduled banks. The beneficiaries whose loans have been approved by the banks for passenger autorickshaw, goods vehicle and taxi will be provided with a subsidy of 50 per cent of the value of the vehicle or a maximum subsidy of Rs 3 lakh.
The KMDCL notification clearly stated that the scheme can only be availed by religious minority communities which means Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and Parsis.
Tv9Kannada.com has covered news about Swavalambi Sarathi which states that this scheme is also available for the SC and ST communities.
Indiaherald.com filed a report on Karnataka state budget which mentions Swavalambi Sarathi scheme is for SC and ST community.
cnbctv18.com report also mentions the same
Hence, we can conclude that the Karnataka state government is providing a subsidy on commercial vehicles to the unemployed belonging to religious minorities, SC and ST communities under the Swavalambi Sarathi but not to the Muslims alone.
