Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 8: Jammu Kashmir BJP spokesperson and former Vice Chairman, Balbir Ram Rattan, while discussing the J&K Budget 2026–27 with senior leaders of the SC Morcha, stated that the Scheduled Caste community has been completely ignored and discriminated by the National Conference (NC) Government. He said that the budget reflects the anti-SC mindset of the present UT Government led by Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah.
Balbir Ram Rattan said that despite tall claims of being “people-centric,” the Rs 1,13,767 crore budget has failed to address the concerns, welfare, and development of Scheduled Castes in Jammu Kashmir. The budget is completely silent on the welfare of Scheduled Castes, who constitute a significant portion of the population in the Union Territory. This neglect amounts to a grave injustice.
He further pointed out that SCs have a sizeable population in the Jammu province, while their population in the Kashmir region is almost negligible and this demographic reality appears to be one of the main reasons behind the discriminatory approach of the NC Government towards SCs. Since their vote bank is largely concentrated in Jammu, the NC regime seems to have deliberately sidelined their issues, Balbir alleged.
The BJP leader also highlighted that the National Conference failed to win even a single Scheduled Caste (SC) reserved seat in the last Assembly elections. This political setback for NC seems to have turned into a punishment for the entire SC community. Their exclusion from budgetary priorities appears to be a vindictive response to the electoral verdict.
Balbir Ram asserted that there is no mention of special schemes, financial allocations, skill development initiatives, or social upliftment programmes for SCs in the budget. The failure to acknowledge the need for targeted interventions for SCs exposes the hollow nature of NC’s promises of inclusive governance.
He reaffirmed that the BJP remains committed to the upliftment and empowerment of SCs and will continue to raise their issues at every forum. The BJP will not allow discrimination against SCs to go unchecked and will fight for their rightful share in development, dignity, and justice, Balbir said.
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