‘Janakrosha’ protest of BJP must be against Centre, says Deputy CM DK Shivakumar

BENGALURU: Hitting out at the Union government for rising prices of several things, including fertilizers, gold, cement, and iron, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said BJP’s ‘Janakrosha yatra’ must be against the BJP government in the Centre and not against the Congress government in the state.

Speaking at the rally organised by the Congress party at Freedom Park on Thursday to protest against the price rise by the Centre, he said, “BJP leaders are taking out Janakrosha yatra against the Congress government in the state. But their protest must be against their government in the Centre, which is responsible for inflation. The BJP and JDS are taking out this protest to cover up their internal factionalism and leadership vacuum”.

“We increased the price of milk by Rs 4 to benefit the hardworking farmers, as the prices of cattle feed have gone up significantly. By protesting against the milk price increase, the BJP and the JDS have demonstrated that they are anti-farmer”, he lashed out.

“Milk prices are the lowest in Karnataka. Despite the price hike, Karnataka still has the lowest milk prices in the country. It is Rs 52 in Kerala, Rs 53 in Gujarat, Rs 55 in Delhi, Rs 52 in Maharashtra, Rs 58 in Telangana, Rs 60 in Assam, Rs 56 in Haryana, Rs 50 in Rajasthan, Rs 52 in Madhya Pradesh, Rs 56 in Punjab and Rs 56 in Uttar Pradesh”, he explained.

#WATCH | Congress-ruled Karnataka state government is holding a protest in Bengaluru against the central government’s hike in gas and petrol prices.

Karnataka CM’s legal advisor, AS Ponnanna, says, “The responsibility of increasing the price of LPG, petrol and diesel and… pic.twitter.com/JXBlux5wHT

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“Prices of everything have gone up. Women are not able to buy even mangalasutras as the prices of gold have increased from Rs 40,000 to Rs 96,000. The mobile phones, which were around Rs 10,000, are around Rs 30,000 today. The cement prices have gone up from Rs 268 to Rs 410. Who is responsible for all this? Hence, the price rise protests must be against the Centre.”

“The Centre has increased the prices of petrol and diesel even though crude prices have fallen globally. Why isn’t the BJP protesting against this? The Congress party workers must protest at the district levels against these price rises,” he said.

“Look at things through conscience, not jaundiced eyes”, he said. “JH Patel had once asked people to ride horses if the roads weren’t good. I won’t say that. Our government has been giving good governance for the last two years. We inaugurated several developmental works in the Kalyana Karnataka region a few days ago”, he added.

“A lot of funds are being spent on developmental works. Our government has allocated Rs 1 lakh for infrastructure projects in Bengaluru, including metro extension, tunnel road, elevated corridor, electricity, waste management, etc. The Opposition must look at our work through conscience and not through jaundiced eyes,” he explained.

“Our government has created a record by presenting a Rs 4 lakh crore budget. A thousand new buses are being introduced. Women are travelling across the state for free. Female heads of families are getting an allowance of Rs 2,000 per month, families are getting 10 kg ration and up to 200 units of free electricity, and youth are getting an unemployment bonus. All these guarantee programmes are to protect people from the price rise caused by the BJP. Hence, the BJP leaders in the state must protest against the BJP government at the Centre.”

I haven’t yet revealed the assets of Kumaraswamy’s brothers. “Kumaraswamy claims that he has tonnes of documents against me. If he does, why isn’t he sending them to the Governor? I am not the type who is scared of these scare tactics. I have created wealth through my hard work and sweat, the government is free to asses it. I haven’t yet opened the Pandora’s box of how Kumaraswamy’s brothers made so much wealth,” he lashed out.

“A big-mouth BJP leader has complained to the Governor against me. He has cases of sexual assault against him in Vidhana Soudha. I won’t talk about it now. The Congress party will fight against the corrupt BJP and JDS and come to power in 2028 in the state,” he said. (ANI)