Bengaluru, Jun 27 (IANS): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi taking over the responsibility of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha is in the interest of the nation.

He said that he had also suggested that Rahul Gandhi should accept the post of LoP in the Lok Sabha.

“The executive committee and I have insisted that Rahul Gandhi is the appropriate choice to confront the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi taking on this responsibility is in the interest of the nation,” the Chief Minister said.

On the hike in milk price, the Chief Minister said that milk prices have not been increased.

“Milk production last year was 90 lakh litres while now it stands at more than 99 lakh litres per day. We have to purchase milk from farmers and sell it. In every milk packet, 50 ml is added and the price has been increased proportionately. We are marketing additional milk sold by farmers, and the rate is fixed accordingly,” he stressed.

When asked about hotel owners considering increasing the prices of coffee and tea, Siddaramaiah said how they can increase the price while the milk price remains the same.

“The additional supply of milk has to be purchased from farmers and it can’t be disposed of just like that. The buyers are getting more milk for the additional money they pay,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Karnataka government hiked milk prices by Rs 2 while an additional 50 ml has been added to the milk packets.

The revised rates have come into effect from Wednesday.