BENGALURU: Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on Monday demanded that the Congress government step down “before a revolution happens” in Karnataka, or else roll back all price hikes and deliver justice to farmers. She was speaking at a protest organised by the BJP’s state Mahila Morcha at Freedom Park, against the hike in milk prices.
Shobha alleged that governance in the state had hit rock-bottom over the past three to four months. The burden falls on hotel workers, taxi and autorickshaw drivers and street vendors, who must pay rent, electricity, water and garbage bills from modest earnings and now bear the annual hike in milk and curd prices. She also alleged that Rs 5,000crore meant for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme had gone missing, with no accounting done so far.
Former Legislative Council member Bharathi Shetty demanded that the government roll back the price rise. She said the Yediyurappa government had funded milk subsidy from the treasury, and the Congress should do the same, as promised in its manifesto, rather than give consumers “shock treatment”.
She said the government had raised milk prices four times -- by Rs 4, Rs 3 and Rs 2 per litre, and now Rs 8.