Bengaluru: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai termed the ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi as a ‘sponsored protest’.
Replying to a debate on price rises initiated by Opposition Congress, Mr Bommai said that Punjab and Haryana state “farmers’ protest in Delhi, demanding to scrap agricultural laws is political sponsored protest. APMC lobby was behind farmers’ protest”, he remarked.

Chief Minister’s remarks against farmers protest made Opposition Congress members annoyed. Congress members shouted slogans against the ruling BJP is anti-farmer and anti-poor.

Anti MSP lobby behind working in APMC behind in the farmers' protest. Excise duty collected from Petrol and Diesel has been utilized for developmental projects and giving subsidies to the farmers, Mr. Bommai said referring to an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to agricultural produce.

Read: Price rises: Congress takes cycle jatha to Vidhana Soudha

Defending the increase of excise duty on petroleum products, Mr. Bommai said that during the previous UPA government, cess on petrol and diesel was increased.
Mr Bommai has given statistics on excise duty on petrol and diesel from 1973 to 2021. From 1973 to 1979 petrol and diesel price was increased from Rs. 1.25 to Rs. 3. From 1973 to 1986 the price of petrol and diesel was increased a hundred per cent, the Chief Minister said.

Due to the increase of cess on petroleum price, the state is getting a 40% share from the Centre. The centre has spent money to procure agricultural produce through MSP.

Mr. Bommai also defended the Centre’s monetization scheme (privatization of key central infrastructure projects), the Chief Minister has said that during the UPA regime, Mumbai-Pune Express Highway was monetized for Rs. 80,000 crores.

Refusing to reduce the cess on Petrol and Diesel, Mr Bommai said that when the Congress government was in power, it has refused to reduce the Petrol and Diesel rates, he said.