The Congress party in Karnataka has sent out a detailed, over 1500-worded, three-page memorandum to the Central government highlighting the plight of the people under a “BJP Made Mehangai” (BJP-made price-rise) in which it alleged that the “extortionist policies” were adversely affecting the people.

“The people of Karnataka, along with the people of India, are deeply anguished and pained by the ‘extortionist policies’ of the BJP-NDA Government at the Centre led by your good self. The surging inflation has broken the budgets of ordinary households,” the Congress said in the memorandum addressed to the Central government.

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Presenting its analysis, the party said India’s economy has taken a downturn, wages have stagnated, private investment has dried out, manufacturing is at its lowest ebb, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIls) are rapidly withdrawing money from India, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is falling, Stock Market has plunged to an all-time low, unemployment rate is at a 45 year high, but the BJP-NDA government at the Centre remains oblivious to the ills arising out of gross economic mismanagement.

It appears that the only solution with the BJP-NDA government is to impose even more burden on ordinary people by raising the price of domestic LPG Gas cylinders and Petrol-Diesel, it stated.

“Any increase in the price of Petrol, Diesel, and LPG gas automatically leads to an all-round inflationary pressure, increasing the cost of transportation, essential commodities, milk, vegetables, food items, and putting an unwarranted burden of costs on the already distressed manufacturing sector. “This is the worst economic solution being found by the NDA-BJP Government to fill its coffers by taxing the ordinary citizens,” the Congress party said in its memorandum.

The party demanded immediate rollback of the hike in LPG cylinders, and a reduction in the excise hike on petroleum products. It said when Congress demitted power at the Centre, the LPG subsidy paid by the government of India in the year 2013-14 was 852,290 crore. The NDA-BJP government has been reducing the LPG subsidy every year. For the year 2024-25, the LPG subsidy was Rs 211,925 crore and it is further proposed to be reduced in the Union government’s budget for the year 2025-26 to Rs 10,600 crore. This only shows the anti-poor and anti-middle class mindset of the BJP government, the Congress party said.

Making an effort to paint the ground situation on the economic front, the memorandum said the poor and middle class is bearing the brunt of the mismanagement. It alleged that the Union BJP government was profiteering at the cost of the common man.