Bengaluru, Mar 31 (UNI) The BJP on Monday announced a series of protests across Karnataka against the Congress-led state government, accusing it of burdening the people with price hikes and indulging in appeasement politics.

Addressing a press conference here, Karnataka BJP President Vijayendra Yediyurappa said the party would stage demonstrations across Karnataka on April 2 to protest against rising prices. On April 5, protests will be held against the Congress government's minority appeasement policies.

Additionally, on April 7, the BJP will launch the 'Jana Aakrosha Yatra' from Mysuru, which will be inaugurated by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. This campaign aims to create awareness about price hikes, lack of development, and the government's appeasement policies.

Slamming the Congress government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Vijayendra termed it a "curse" for the people of the state. He accused the government of imposing multiple price hikes, causing severe hardship to the common man.

"In the last 20 months, the Congress government has only burdened the people with relentless price hikes. Petrol and diesel prices have been increased, stamp duty has been raised, electricity tariffs hiked, water rates have gone up, and milk prices have been raised three times. The common man is suffering, and people are completely fed up with this government," he alleged.

Criticising the recently presented state budget, Vijayendra claimed that the introduction of a 4% reservation in government contracts for the Muslim community was both "illegal and unconstitutional." He also pointed out that financial assistance for Muslim students pursuing higher education abroad had been increased from rS 20 lakh to RS 30 lakh, while Hindu students received no such benefits.

"Crores of rupees have been allocated for self-defence training for Muslim girls, but Hindu girls have been ignored. The Siddaramaiah government is engaging in blatant appeasement politics and insulting the Hindu community. The BJP strongly opposes these discriminatory policies," he stated.

Further, Vijayendra alleged that the Congress government had neglected Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), diverting over Rs 38,000 crore meant for their socio-economic development towards funding government guarantees. "This is a great injustice to these communities, and the BJP condemns it," he asserted. UNI BDN SSP