Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and several other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were detained on Thursday during a protest against the Congress-led Karnataka government’s policies.
The opposition BJP had launched state-wide protests on Wednesday against the Karnataka government, alleging that it “failed” to contain rising prices. In Bengaluru, BJP state president BY Vijayendra and his father BS Yediyurappa led the protests at Freedom Park.
Why is BJP protesting Karnataka govt’s policies?
1. Diesel price hike
Earlier, the state government increased the sales tax on diesel to 21.17 per cent, potentially increasing diesel price in the state by ₹2 per liter, news agency ANI reported.
According to the News Minute, the Akhila Karnataka Petroleum Dealers Association estimated that the new tax will result in a price hike of approximately ₹2 per litre, pushing the cost to ₹91.02.
2. Garbage cess
Meanwhile, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) introduced a new “garbage cess,” making it mandatory for Bengaluru residents to pay a solid waste management user fee starting Tuesday, April 1.
The BBMP decided to increase door to door waste collection and disposal charges, imposing a monthly ‘garbage cess’ on various properties. The new tax will be levied on residential buildings, shops, and hotels, with charges varying based on property size.
As per BBMP, hotels which were previously charged ₹5 per kg of garbage, will now pay ₹12 per kg. Similarly, for residential buildings charges are based on area. For buildings up to 600 sq ft a monthly charge of ₹10 will be collected.
While for buildings with area between 600-1,000 sq ft a monthly garbage cell of ₹50 will be collected.
Buildings ranging from 1,000-2,000 sq ft of area, a monthly cess of ₹100 will be collected, while it has been fixed at ₹150 per month for buildings with 2,000 – 3,000 sq ft of area.
For buildings from 3,000 sq ft to 4,000 sq ft of area, a monthly garbage cess of ₹200 will be collected, while ₹400 will be collected per month for buildings with above 4000 sq ft of area.
The garbage cess will be collected annually along with property tax. The BBMP expects to generate around ₹600 crore annually through this initiative to boost its revenue.
3. Hikes in milk prices
On March 27, the Karnataka government announced a ₹4 per liter increase in the price of Nandini milk and curd, effective April 1. This decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to support dairy farmers and account for rising milk production and processing costs.
Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) chairman Bheema Naik defended the state government’s move to increase the price of Nandini milk by ₹4 per litre, stating that the additional cost would go directly to the farmers.
“We were selling milk in Karnataka at a price lower than that elsewhere in the country. KMF procures 86 lakh-1 crore (milk) every day. 1 litre of milk is sold at ₹42 (Karnataka). In Gujarat, it is ₹53, in Andhra & Telangana, it is ₹58, in Delhi and Maharashtra, it is ₹56, in Kerala, it is ₹54. This decision has been taken in the interest of herders. These 4 Rupees are going to farmers,” Naik told ANI.
4. Hike in electricity prices
Electricity bills are also set to increase, despite a minor reduction in energy charges. The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) lowered energy costs by 10 paise per unit but raised fixed charges by ₹25 for the fiscal year 2025-26, with further hikes planned in subsequent years, the News Minute reported.
Consumers will see the revised rates reflected in their May bills.
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