Belagavi
At a press conference held at the Congress office, Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy justified the increase in petrol and diesel prices by the state government, describing it as a regular occurrence in the cost of produce. He emphasized that such increases should not excessively burden the public.
Cheluvarayaswamy highlighted that the costs of development projects and government programs escalate annually by 10% to 25%. He stressed the necessity of corresponding tax collection for funding these initiatives.
However, he criticized the BJP-led central government for significantly raising petrol prices to Rs 100 from Rs 70 and increasing the price of LPG cylinders to Rs 1,000 from Rs 350. He labeled these hikes as abnormal and stated that the Congress government had protested against them.
The minister noted that states have limited options to raise taxes, with nearly 90% of taxation powers vested in the Centre. Regarding petrol and diesel prices, he pointed out that Karnataka’s rates are lower than those in neighbouring states like Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. He attributed the rise in fuel prices partly to the Centre’s failure to allocate the state’s rightful share of Rs 1.8 lakh crores.
Regarding the increase in milk prices, Cheluvarayaswamy clarified that the decision aimed to support farmers. He assured that the government was not charging customers extra but providing additional milk at an increased cost due to heightened procurement demands. This step was taken to protect the interests of milk-producing farmers, with existing government subsidies for dairy farmers remaining unchanged.
