“This state and central government is indulging in criminal robbery,” Siddaramaiah said. (file)
Bangalore:
There were heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition parties in the Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday during a debate on the price hike initiated by Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, who accused the BJP governments in the state and the Centre, of “criminal loot”.
The former chief minister also accused the government of ‘neglecting’ to hold the assembly session, pointing out that the legislature session was being held after a gap of six months.
“Whether it is rice, pulses, cement, iron, gas, petrol, diesel, the prices of all commodities have reached the sky… Prices have been increasing continuously for the last two years. The situation is such that the common man Man and middle class people are unable to live their life,” Siddaramaiah said.
Reprimanding BJP leaders for criticizing their protest against price hike by reaching Vidhana Soudha in a bullock cart on the first day of the session on September 13, he said that even BJP veteran and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, When he was a Jan Sangh MP. In 1973 and Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, so did the protest against the increase of seven paise in fuel prices.
“Vajpayee had then termed the rise in prices as criminal robbery. Now what word shall I use for this government? I will also use the same words – this state and central government is indulging in criminal robbery.”
The Congress Legislature Party leader said the increase in prices was because the Indian government sharply increased additional excise duty on petrol, diesel and gas.
“They (BJP) blame international crude oil prices for the rise in fuel prices. The price of a barrel of crude oil ranges from USD 120 to USD 69. Still, a liter of petrol is Rs 106 and diesel will soon be available. It will touch Rs 100 only.” He said, because he compared prices during UPA and now.
He alleged that the Center did not pass on the benefit of the fall in crude oil prices in the international market to the consumers here.
Responding to the argument on debt position and oil bonds, he said, “They (BJP) say that the previous government had borrowed huge debt/oil bonds. The loan amount was around Rs 1.30 lakh crore… for seven years. In Karnataka alone, an excise duty of Rs 1.21 lakh crore has gone to the Centre.”
Objecting to Siddaramaiah’s argument, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy questioned the need to discuss the issue in the Assembly as decisions on it are taken by the Centre.
“Is this Parliament speech or Assembly speech? I think you have forgotten and went to Parliament. Can we here discuss or debate matters or decisions related to the central government or parliament? How can the state government respond to this? Is?” He asked, triggering another round of verbal battles between the opposition and the Treasury bench.
In response, Siddaramaiah said that he was not leveling allegations against the Prime Minister or the Center and was aware that he could not reply in the Assembly but was merely laying out facts.
“Aren’t over 6.5 crore people of Karnataka affected by inflation? What should we tell them as public representatives? Is it not our responsibility? Can we keep quiet?” He asked, and said that if everyone agreed, he was in favor of sending a proposal to the Center on the issue of price hike.
The Congress also objected to Health Minister K Sudhakar’s intervention as he tried to explain the contribution of oil bonds to the rise in fuel prices, accusing him of diverting the issue. Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri adjourned the House for lunch as the tussle between the ruling party and the opposition once again escalated.
Siddaramaiah, during his speech, said that there was no session of the Assembly for the last six months and accused the government of neglecting to convene the session to discuss the issues faced by the people.
He said, “Vidhan Sabha is a platform for public representatives to discuss public issues and get feedback from the government. Due to your neglect, the Vidhan Sabha is losing its importance.” Sessions range from ten to 20 days, if not at least five days.
As Madhuswamy cited COVID-19 as the reason for not convening the session, Siddaramaiah asked, “How did Parliament work then? You are using Corona as a shield. It is because of your (ruling BJP) internal issues.” That session was not called.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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