Bengaluru: With a fresh round of price revisions set to take effect, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala Tuesday stepped up criticism of the Centre, alleging inflation was placing an increasing burden on households. The duo said prices of some 900 essential medicines, including those used for diabetes, hypertension and infections, would rise from Wednesday, the start of a new financial year. Questioning annual revisions and tax policies, they alleged cost escalations in healthcare would directly affect patients. Targeting the Ujjwala scheme, Shivakumar said it had become a “firewood stove scheme”, citing rising LPG costs. He said domestic cylinder prices climbed to Rs 913, with shortages pushing effective costs higher in some areas. Surjewala and Shivakumar also pointed to broader inflationary trends across sectors. They cited increases in construction inputs such as steel, cement, bitumen and petrochemical products like polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC. Cement prices were expected to rise by Rs 50–Rs 100 per bag, they said, adding that such increases would impact housing and infrastructure. On transport, they said airfares had risen by 10-15% due to fuel surcharges, while road toll charges were set to increase by about 5% from April 1. Surjewala alleged that toll collections reflected highway robbery, claiming that since 2019–20, Rs 23,000 crore had been collected from Karnataka. He also cited the Bengaluru–Mysuru highway, alleging that toll was collected before project completion. They also flagged increases in postal charges, stating that Speed Post rates had risen by 34%. Shivakumar alleged the Centre’s policy decisions and its approach to global factors had led to higher costs across essential services. He contrasted this with the state govt’s welfare programmes, stating that its guarantee schemes were providing financial support to households facing inflationary pressure. He urged the Centre to introduce measures to ease the burden on the public.
