Faced with bullock cart protests by Congress on rising fuel prices, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said the grand old party did nothing on this issue when the UPA was in power.
“Fuel prices went up 100 per cent when the UPA was in power. They didn’t do anything about it then. If they had, then their protest now would have meant something,” Bommai told reporters.
“I’m sure they will raise in the Assembly and I’ll answer there,” he added.
Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar, G Parameshwara, MB Patil, Eshwar Khandre and other legislators rode a bullock cart to Vidhana Soudha, the venue of the 10-day legislature session starting Monday, which is the first for the Bommai administration.
“Life has become difficult with prices of essential items going up. The Centre is simply lying and cheating people,” Siddaramaiah said.
“They blame international prices for the fuel price rise. The price of a crude oil barrel is down to $69 from $120. Still, a litre of petrol is ₹106 and diesel will soon touch ₹100,” he said.
Siddaramaiah also contended the argument on debt position. “They say the previous government had borrowed huge loans. The loans amounted to just ₹1.30 lakh crore, whereas the Centre has earned a revenue of ₹24 lakh crore in excise duty,” he said.
The bullock cart rally choked traffic in the Vidhana Soudha vicinity. “Bullock carts aren’t allowed inside the city. This is just a drama the Congress is staging. They can raise the issue in the Assembly instead of inconveniencing citizens,” Cooperation Minister ST Somashekar, who got stuck in the traffic jam, said.
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