Published Nov 11, 2026 | 5:01 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 11, 2026 | 5:03 PM
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said the successive increases were hurting poor and middle-class households.
Synopsis: The Karnataka BJP staged a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Wednesday, demanding the rollback of recent increases in milk prices and bus fares. BJP leaders accused the Congress government of breaking its pre-poll promises and adding to the financial burden on households. Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa accused the government of bankrupting the State exchequer.
The Karnataka BJP on Wednesday, 11 November, staged a protest at Freedom Park against the Congress government’s recent increases in milk prices and bus fares, demanding their immediate rollback.
Led by BJP State president BY Vijayendra, the party accused the DK Shivakumar government of going back on its pre-poll promises and adding to the financial burden on households.
Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, Legislative Council Opposition leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar, former Union Minister Bhagwanth Khuba, former Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol and former Minister Ashwath Narayan were among those present.
The protest came after the State government announced a 23 percent to 35 percent increase in bus fares across the four State-run transport corporations, effective 5 November. Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh cited rising diesel prices and mounting losses in the corporations to justify the increase.
The government also raised Nandini milk prices by ₹8 a litre from 1 November. Of this increase, ₹7 goes towards raising the procurement price paid to dairy farmers from ₹35 to ₹42 a litre, while ₹1 goes to milk cooperative societies to meet their expenses.
Bengaluru Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the decision followed farmers’ demand for an increase of ₹10 a litre to meet rising costs. The Cabinet settled on an ₹8 increase.
ಪೆಟ್ರೋಲ್, ಡಿಸೇಲ್ ಮೇಲಿನ ತೆರಿಗೆಯನ್ನು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಬಾರಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಳ ಮಾಡಿದೆ, ಸ್ಟ್ಯಾಂಪ್ ಡ್ಯೂಟಿ, ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯ ಸೇವಾದರವನ್ನೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಿದ್ದ ಸರ್ಕಾರ, ಹಬ್ಬದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮದ ನಡುವೆಯೂ ಹಾಲು, ಮೊಸರು, ತುಪ್ಪದ ಮೇಲೆ ದರ ಹೆಚ್ಚಳ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಬೆಲೆ ಏರಿಕೆ ನೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಖಂಡಿಸಿ ಹೈಕೋರ್ಟ್ ಕೂಡಾ ಛೀಮಾರಿ ಹಾಕಿದೆ.
– ಶ್ರೀ ವಿಜಯೇಂದ್ರ ಯಡಿಯೂರಪ್ಪ, ರಾಜ್ಯಾಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರು
#CongressFailsKarnataka #PriceHike
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) November 11, 2026
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Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said the successive increases were hurting poor and middle-class households.
“Suddenly, the DK Shivakumar government is hiking prices. It is a torture to all poor people. Before the election, they claimed that they would not hike prices but they are hiking everything – milk, ghee, bus,” he said.
Vijayendra accused the government of raising taxes and charges during the festive season.
“The State Congress government has raised taxes on petrol and diesel four times. The government had also increased stamp duty and hospital service charges, and even amid the festive celebrations, it has raised the prices of milk, curd and ghee. The High Court has also slammed the Congress government’s price-hike policy,” he said.
The State government raised VAT on petrol once, in June 2024, from 25.92 percent to 29.84 percent. It increased the tax on diesel twice: from 14.34 percent to 18.44 percent in June 2024, and to 21.17 percent in April 2025. The government also increased stamp duty on several legal documents in February 2024 and revised user charges at Bengaluru Medical College and Research Institute government hospitals in November 2024.
Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa accused the government of bankrupting the State exchequer.
“The Congress government in the state is bankrupt. This government cannot even afford to fuel government buses. The people of the state have rejected this government, which relies on money power, muscle power and the power of its wives. An NDA government will certainly come to power in the state in the next election,” he said.
Narayanaswamy said the Congress would find it harder to return to power in the 2028 Assembly elections.
“Campaigning for the Congress party in the next election will be an uphill battle. Facing the public will surely bring humiliation. Public anger against the Congress government’s price hikes is growing. The people of the state are cursing this poverty-stricken government,” he said.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Varsha Gowda)
