Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a 24-hour ‘Ahoratri Dharani’ (day-night protest) at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, accusing the Congress-led Karnataka Government of reckless price hikes, fiscal mismanagement and a series of Governance failures.

The BJP has prepared a detailed charge sheet against the Congress Government, highlighting what it calls the ‘daylight robbery’ of the people through indiscriminate price hikes on essential services and commodities.

BJP leaders expressed outrage over the Congress Government’s decision to increase prices across multiple sectors, arguing that these hikes have placed an undue burden on the common man, particularly the poor and middle class.

They alleged that no department, sector or service had been left untouched by the Government’s price hike spree, which ranged from birth and death certificate fees to property tax, property registration fees and stamp duty.

Healthcare costs

Even basic healthcare services at Government hospitals have become costlier, they said, adding that the poor, who rely on State-run medical facilities for affordable treatment, are the worst affected.

They accused the Congress Government of raising costs solely to generate additional revenue for its Guarantee Schemes, claiming that developmental projects have come to a halt due to the diversion of funds.

Arguing that the government was looting the public to fill its coffers, BJP leaders asserted that all public works and infrastructure projects had stalled as a result. They demanded that the government immediately roll back the price hikes and ensure that the burden of governance does not fall solely on tax-payers.

MLA suspension

Earlier in the day, State BJP Chief B.Y. Vijayendra led a protest at the Kengal Hanumanthaiah statue near Vidhana Soudha, condemning the Congress Government’s decision to suspend 18 BJP MLAs for six months.

Accusing Speaker U.T. Khader of acting in a partisan and unconstitutional manner, BJP leaders claimed that the suspension was an attempt to silence the Opposition and prevent accountability in the Assembly.

They raised slogans against the Congress Government and called for an immediate reversal of the decision, alleging that the Speaker’s action was politically motivated. They warned that if such actions continued, democracy itself would be in danger.

Meeting Speaker

Following the protest, a delegation of BJP met Speaker Khader in his chamber and submitted a memorandum demanding revocation of suspension.

Also, the BJP demanded that the honey trap case, which has been making national headlines, be handed over to CBI for an impartial investigation. They claimed that several politicians across parties had been compromised in the scandal and that only a high-level, independent probe could uncover the truth.

The protest witnessed the participation of several senior BJP leaders, including State BJP President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra, Opposition Leader R. Ashoka, MLAs Byrathi Basavaraj, T.S. Srivatsa, V. Sunil Kumar, G. Janardhan Reddy and C.C. Patil, MLCs C.T. Ravi and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy.