The Karnataka milk price hike triggered a protest by the BJP women’s wing at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park on Monday, with demonstrators demanding that the Congress government withdraw the increase. Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje and other BJP leaders were detained by police when protesters attempted to march from the venue carrying placards and milk cans.
The Karnataka Cabinet decided on Thursday to raise the price of Nandini milk by Rs 8 per litre. Of this increase, Rs 7 is intended to go to milk producers and Re 1 to the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). The revised price took effect on November 1.
Following the decision, KMF also increased the price of curd by Rs 14 per litre and raised the price of some special and toned milk varieties by as much as Rs 12 per litre. The changes affect a staple food product as well as related dairy items sold across the state.
Addressing protesters, Karandlaje called for an immediate rollback of the increase and alleged that the state government’s administration had deteriorated over the past three to four months. She also criticised the government’s handling of drought relief, welfare schemes and public transport services.
Karandlaje said the latest increase would make daily expenses more difficult for people working in hotels, driving taxis and auto-rickshaws, and operating roadside businesses. Her remarks linked the price change to the wider cost pressures faced by low-income urban workers, although the protest organisers did not provide an independent estimate of the impact on household budgets.
She alleged that farmers in Karnataka were receiving inadequate compensation during a drought caused by insufficient rainfall. According to her, the government was providing Rs 2,500 per acre under drought relief and had placed 17 to 18 conditions on farmers seeking the assistance. These claims were made at the protest and were not independently substantiated in the report.
Karandlaje also alleged that the Congress government’s contribution to the Kisan Samman scheme had been discontinued after it came to power, while the previous BJP government led by B S Yediyurappa had provided an additional Rs 4,000 to farmers alongside central assistance. She further questioned the implementation of the Gruha Lakshmi welfare scheme and alleged that Rs 5,000 crore had not been accounted for by the state government.
The Union Minister also claimed that buses operated by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and other transport corporations had been affected by shortages of funds for repairs and diesel. The report did not include a response from the state government, KMF or the transport corporations to these allegations.
Former MLC Bharathi Shetty demanded that the government withdraw the milk price increase and said the BJP Mahila Morcha would organise protests across Karnataka, including in districts, mandals and wards. She alleged that earlier increases of Rs 4, Rs 3 and Rs 2 per litre, followed by the latest Rs 8 increase, had taken the total rise to Rs 12 per litre. The state government’s stated latest increase is Rs 8 per litre, with the additional amounts relating to earlier revisions.
The protest follows the implementation of the revised Nandini milk prices on November 1. The government and KMF are yet to announce any rollback in the material supplied for the report.
