Summary:
Bengaluru, Sep 15 (PTI) The Karnataka legislative assembly witnessed heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition sides on Wednesday during the debate on price rise initiated by Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, who accused the BJP governments in the state and Centre of "criminal loot".
The former Chief Minister also charged the government with "neglecting" holding the assembly sessions, pointing out that the legislature session was being held after a gap of six months.
"The prices of all commodities have reached the sky, whether it is rice, pulses, cement, iron, gas, petrol, diesel...Prices have been rising for the last two years continuously.
The situation is such that the common man and middle class people are unable to lead their lives," Siddaramaiah said.
Chiding BJP leaders for criticising his protest against price rise by arriving at the Vidhana Soudha in a bullock cart on the first day of the session on September 13, he said even BJP stalwart and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when he was the Jana Sangh MP in 1973 and Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, had done likewise in protest against the seven paise increase in fuel prices.
"Vajpayee had then termed the rise in prices as criminal loot.