In a show of coalition unity, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy received backing from his alliance partner Congress while he launched an attack on the Narendra Modi-led Union government while defending his budget in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

“It was in 2014 that the Centre promised minimum support price (MSP) for farmers. Now, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Centre has announced MSP,” Kumaraswamy said.

“Since 2014, Karnataka is yet to get Rs 900 crore from the Centre for MSP purchases. This, despite the Centre’s coffers getting filled up thanks to the GST.”

Law Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the Centre’s recent MSP announcement was a farce. “There are three types of agricultural cost - A1+F2, C2 and C3. Farmers have long demanded 1.5 times MSP on the A1+F2 cost, but the Centre has applied it to C2, which doesn’t really help. The UPA’s MSP was 1.47 times the cost of agriculture that a farmer incurs,” he said.

Basavaraj Bommai (BJP) challenged this and dared the government to compare the MSP during the UPA and the BJP-led NDA.

Kumaraswamy then trained his guns at the Centre on the issue of fuel price hike, pointing out that the Modi administration had hiked excise duty consistently despite global crude oil prices falling.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao said the Centre failed to pass
the benefit of plummeting crude oil price onto consumers.

BJP members argued that the Centre’s decision to hike duty was to help ailing oil companies. “What are you talking! Oil companies are part of the Navratna. The Navratna have never needed any such bailouts,” Revenue Minister R V Deshpande said.