BENGALURU: Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Thursday attempted ‘gherao’ the Chief Minister’s official residence in Bengaluru over the issue of price hike in the State across multiple sectors. However, they were detained by the police, who were present in large numbers, and later let off.
Earlier, BJP MLA SR Vishwanath slammed the Karnataka government for price hikes. He alleged that Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has declared a hike in water prices too. “… We have been protesting against price hikes since yesterday, yet we see that DK Shivakumar has declared a hike in water prices, too… The people must start protesting against price hikes and corruption… Soon, the people will be out on the streets in protest, and then these people (the Karnataka government) will see that what they are doing is wrong,” Vishwanath said.
The BJP in Karnataka continues to protest against the State government over price hikes across multiple sectors. The opposition party leaders in the State staged an overnight protest in Bengaluru’s Freedom Park and continued to demonstrate in the morning.
#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka | On price hikes across multiple sectors in the state, BJP MLA SR Vishwanath says, “… We have been protesting against price hikes since yesterday, yet we see that DK Shivakumar has declared a hike in water prices, too… The people must start… pic.twitter.com/3fycpmPtr1
— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2025
Stating that the Congress government has increased prices of all the essentials, BJP MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said that they want to remain incharge on the basis of five guarantees offered earlier. Taking a dig at the ministers in the State government for passing the buck onto the centre for price hike, the BJP leader said that only “irresponsible” ministers could make such remarks.
“The Congress government in Karnataka is hiking the prices of all the essentials. They wanted to run this show for five years on five guarantees. Yesterday, some of the ministers in the state government — I don’t know if they are capable of handling their ministries — said that this diesel price rise comes under the central government and not the state. Only irresponsible ministers can make such statements,” Narayanaswamy, who is Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Karnataka Legislative Council, said.
Earlier, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra on Wednesday attacked the state government and said that a price hike is the only guarantee implemented by the government.
“The reason behind the day and night dharna by the BJP is inflation… Price hike is the only guarantee implemented by the government and the common man is affected by inflation… Being a responsible opposition party, we have protested day and night. The Congress party should withdraw the decision on price hikes. Otherwise, the common man will come out on the streets and will not let the government work. I demand from the Chief Minister and the cabinet colleagues that they should visit the villages and understand the ground reality,” Vijayendra told reporters.
In protest against the recent price increases, the BJP launched an overnight protest at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park on Wednesday. Vijayendra urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to step out of his air-conditioned room and tour the entire state, not just Bengaluru, along with his ministers.
He drew a historical comparison, stating that past kings used to disguise themselves and interact with their people before implementing beneficial policies. He further suggested that if Siddaramaiah was feeling insecure about his position, he should take Deputy CM DK Shivakumar along with him on these visits.
Karnataka BJP Chief and MLA BY Vijayendra expressed outrage over the suspension, stating, “18 BJP MLAs were suspended with unheard of strict conditions when they were protesting on the floor of the house peacefully. What nonsense is this? We respect the Speaker’s chair, but the Speaker should not have acted unconstitutionally and as an agent of the state government.” (ANI)
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