Leader of Opposition in Assembly R. Ashok leads BJP activists in a protest against hike in petrol and diesel prices in Karnataka, at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, on June 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
The BJP staged a statewide protest against the hike in petrol and diesel prices in Karnataka on June 17. The principal opposition party declared that its struggle against the government of Karnataka would continue till the hike in petroleum prices is rolled back.
“The BJP will continue its fight till the government withdraws the hike in prices,” BJP State president B. Y. Vijayendra told supporters at Freedom Park in Bengaluru where BJP legislators and MPs had gathered to protest against the price hike.
Describing the hike in petroleum prices as ‘stupid and anti-people’, he said it is the responsibility of the BJP as the opposition party to ensure justice for poor people, farmers and common people.
He claimed that the Congress had hiked fuel prices as it was frustrated with its single-digit tally in the Lok Sabha polls despite heading the government in Karnataka. Also, several MLAs of the Congress were expressing dissatisfaction over the guarantee schemes, adding to the party’s frustration, he alleged.
Ridiculing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for hiking petroleum prices, which would in turn trigger a rise in prices of essential commodities, Mr. Vijayendra wondered if the CM had lost the pro-people concern that he had displayed while in the opposition.
He accused the Congress government of pushing the State to the brink of bankruptcy within a year of taking over the reigns of the administration. “The government does not have money to fund development works,” he alleged.
Leader of Opposition R. Ashok accused Mr. Siddaramaiah of double standards. Playing an old video clip of Mr. Siddaramaiah, he said, “Mr. Siddaramaiah had opposed the hike in prices of petroleum products when he was in the opposition. Now, he is defending it.”
Referring to the resignation of Nagendra from the ministry in connection with alleged financial fraud of ₹187 crore in the Valmiki ST Development Corporation, he said the second one to step down would be Mr. Siddaramaiah.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayan said that the Congress government had been continuously increasing the prices of some or other service in the last one year, increasing the burden on people. He urged the government to withdraw the latest price hike.
BJP MLC C. T. Ravi accused the Congress government of hoodwinking people.
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