Top bureaucrats face Privilege Motion for skipping PAC meetings on SC scholarship delays

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), led by K C Venugopal, will urge the Lok Sabha Speaker to initiate a privilege motion against the Chief Secretaries of six states: Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, and Bihar for skipping its meetings.

The move comes after the top bureaucrats failed to appear before the panel to explain delays in disbursing pre-matric and post-matric scholarships to Scheduled Caste (SC) students. According to a recent PAC audit, SC students have faced massive hurdles, waiting up to 48 months for pre-matric dues and a staggering 89 months for post-matric funds, with some receiving no money at all. The panel viewed the officials' unexcused absence as a serious breach, prompting the push for strict parliamentary disciplinary action.