New Delhi, Jan 5: BJP president Amit Shah lashed out at the the Congress-JD(S) dispensation in Karnataka on Saturday after it hiked tax on petrol and diesel, saying why should the people pay such a heavy price for "corruption and inefficiency of the state government".

"Under the present state government in Karnataka, farmers are dying. Dalits are being enslaved. Common man is being oppressed with taxes. Why should the people of Karnataka pay such a heavy price for the corruption and inefficiency of the state government?" Shah said in a tweet.

The BJP chief's comments came a day after the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka raised tax rates on petrol and diesel to 32 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, citing adverse impact on the state revenue collection due to continuous fall in prices of crude oil in international market.

Shah had earlier also attacked the government over the issue of farmers suicide and a case of Dalits being allegedly enslaved.

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Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.

This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.

The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.

Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.

"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.

BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.

Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.

Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."

Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.