Karnataka curd price cut a 'PR stunt', says BJP's R. Ashoka; demands full rollback
Synopsis
Karnataka's BJP opposition has turned a partial curd price cut into a full political offensive. R. Ashoka's charge — that the Congress government hiked curd by ₹14 a litre, faced public backlash, then offered a token reduction — frames the episode as governance failure, not farmer welfare. With milk prices still untouched and civic polls on the horizon, the pressure on CM Shivakumar is only growing.
Key Takeaways
BJP Leader of Opposition R.
Ashoka on 3 November 2026 demanded a full rollback of milk and curd price hikes by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) .
Shivakumar had directed KMF to reduce curd prices after public backlash, while defending the milk price hike as beneficial to 11 lakh farming families and 25 lakh milk vendors .
Curd prices were raised by ₹14 per litre before the partial reduction was announced.
Ashoka accused the government of 'deceiving the public' with a marginal cut after an excessive hike.
The BJP leader argued the government should fund farmer incentives from state resources rather than passing costs to consumers.
Ashoka criticised CM Shivakumar's reported comparison of the milk hike to unchallenged bottled water price increases.
BJP Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, R. Ashoka, on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, accused the Congress-led state government of attempting to deflect public anger through a token reduction in curd prices, even as he demanded a complete rollback of the recent hikes in both milk and curd prices in the state.
What Triggered the Row
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday directed the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to reduce curd prices, while simultaneously defending the earlier increase in milk prices. Shivakumar argued the hike was necessary to benefit 11 lakh farming families and 25 lakh milk vendors across Karnataka. However, the partial reversal came only after strong public opposition — a sequence that Ashoka says reveals the government's lack of planning and political intent.
What the BJP Said
Ashoka questioned the rationale behind first raising curd prices by ₹14 per litre and then announcing a marginal reduction under pressure. 'What kind of pro-people governance is this? First, prices are increased excessively and then reduced marginally in an attempt to deceive the public,' he said in a statement.
He further argued that at a time when ordinary families were already stretched by rising costs of essential commodities, any additional financial burden was a sign of irresponsible governance. He also took aim at Chief Minister Shivakumar's reported comparison between milk price hikes and the unquestioned acceptance of bottled water prices, calling the analogy inappropriate given that milk is a daily necessity — not a discretionary item.
The Farmers vs Consumers Debate
Ashoka drew a pointed contrast with the previous BJP government's approach, claiming incentives were provided to milk producers without passing costs directly to consumers. He argued that if the current government is genuinely concerned about farmers, it should absorb the cost of incentives from state funds rather than transferring the burden to households.
'If the government is genuinely concerned about farmers, it should bear the cost of the necessary incentives itself. What is the justification for the government evading its responsibility and shifting the burden onto ordinary people in the name of helping farmers?' Ashoka said.
Demand and What Comes Next
Ashoka stopped short of calling the partial curd price cut acceptable and demanded the government reconsider the milk price hike as well. He called on Karnataka's Congress administration to provide direct financial relief to dairy farmers from the state's own resources — a move that would avoid burdening urban and semi-urban consumers who depend on KMF products daily.
With the opposition sharpening its attack and public sentiment reportedly unsettled, the Shivakumar government faces mounting pressure to either justify the pricing structure or announce a broader correction ahead of upcoming civic polls.
Point of View
A public backlash, and a partial rollback dressed up as responsiveness. What it actually reveals is the KMF's pricing bind — squeezed between farmer demands for better procurement prices and urban consumers resistant to any increase. Chief Minister Shivakumar's bottled-water comparison, however politically clumsy, points to a real structural tension: milk is priced as an essential but produced at a cost that subsidy alone cannot indefinitely cover. The BJP's counter-narrative — that its own government delivered farmer incentives without consumer burden — needs scrutiny; Karnataka's dairy subsidy ledger under both governments is complicated. The real issue, which neither side is fully confronting, is whether KMF's cost structure is sustainable without either state support or market-aligned pricing.
NationPress
3 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Karnataka reduce curd prices after recently hiking them?
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar directed the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to reduce curd prices following strong public opposition to an earlier hike. The curd price had been raised by ₹14 per litre before the partial rollback was announced.
What is BJP's R. Ashoka demanding from the Karnataka government?
R. Ashoka, BJP's Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, has demanded a complete rollback of both milk and curd price hikes, not just the partial reduction in curd prices. He also wants the government to fund farmer incentives from state resources rather than passing costs to consumers.
Why did Karnataka raise milk and curd prices in the first place?
CM D.K. Shivakumar defended the milk price hike as a measure to benefit 11 lakh farming families and 25 lakh milk vendors across Karnataka. He argued higher prices improve returns for dairy producers.
How does the BJP claim it handled dairy pricing differently?
R. Ashoka claimed that during the previous BJP government, incentives were provided to milk producers without directly transferring the financial burden to consumers. He did not specify the exact mechanism or scale of those incentives.
What is the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF)?
The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) is the state cooperative body that procures, processes, and distributes milk and dairy products across Karnataka, primarily under the Nandini brand. Its pricing decisions on milk and curd directly affect millions of households across the state.
