Karnataka: Milk price increase will hurt malnourished women & children, BJP leader Suresh Kumar warns Govt

Senior BJP leader S Suresh Kumar has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to withdraw the increase in milk prices as milk is the only source of protein for millions of malnourished women and children from economically weaker sections.

Kumar, who represents Rajajinagar in the Assembly, said the government has, by repeatedly increasing the prices of milk, denying the only source of protein to women and children from low-income families by crippling their purchasing power.

"On May 1, 2023, when AICC leader Rahul Gandhi, speaking at Arasikere in Hassan district, promised to increase the milk subsidy by Rs 2 per litre if the Congress party was voted to power, people were not aware the government would make consumers pay this subsidy," he said in his letter.

The increase in the price of milk by Rs 2 for both 500 ml and 1000 ml has come into effect and the CM has said the KMF will give 50 ml extra in exchange for Rs 2. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has defended the hike saying there has been a glut in milk production.

"We understand dairy farmers need support at this time of glut in production, and we are all for it. This is the second time in a year the government is hiking the price of milk. In July 2023, the state government allowed KMF to increase prices by ₹3 per litre.

During the previous increase also, the government said it would give 50 ml extra back then, but strangely the 50 ml is missing. The government is saying the same now, but after a couple of months, the milk packets will revert to half litre and one litre," the letter said.

He wondered if the Karnataka Cooperative Milk Federation (KMF) did not have funds to support farmers, how did the government allow it to sponsor Scotland and Ireland cricket teams for the ICC Men’s T2 world cup.

"How did our dairy farmers benefit from this sponsorship? How come KMF did not pass on these funds to dairy farmers? Whose interest did this sponsorship serve?"

"I fail to understand why the government is thinking of taxing citizens more and more when faced with funds crunch," Kumar said, and suggested to the CM to curtail expenditure and use that for meeting subsidy needs of dairy farmers. He urged the CM to scrap all guarantee committees and drop his army of political secretaries and political advisors and use the money saved to support dairy farmers.

Siddaramaiah, however, has maintained that the government has not increased milk prices and was giving 50 ml of milk extra in return for Rs 2 that is being collected. "Even after the implementation of the revised rate, the price of Nandini milk in the state is the lowest in the entire country. The purpose behind increasing the quantity of milk in packets is to protect dairy farmers. The Rs.2 collected in addition will directly reach the farmers," he said in a post on X.