‘Karnataka witnessing Vijayendra tax’

AICC general secretary and in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, on a visit to Karnataka ahead of bypolls, has said that Karnataka is witnessing a new phenomenon called “Vijayendra tax”, taking a dig at Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s son.

Addressing a press conference along with KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar and senior leaders such as M. Mallikarjun Kharge in Belagavi on Saturday, he said, “We had heard about GST and other taxes. And in Karnataka, we hear about a different kind of tax called ‘Vijayendra tax’, which is collected by the family of the Chief Minister.”

He said the issue was being flagged by BJP’s own people such as Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. He alleged that BJP government in Karnataka was immersed in corruption from head to toe and would collapse under its own weight soon.

RDPR Minister K.S. Eshwarappa’s letter to the Governor over the allocation of funds in his department, continued statements of Mr. Yatnal, and Minor Irrigation Minister J.C. Madhuswamy’s statement on the Union government damaging the federal structure were all proof of the rot in the system.

Mr. Surjewala said Mr. Yediyurappa had given a lot of promises to various communities without actually verifying the demands and now it had led to different communities fighting for the sake of getting reservation benefits, including Valmiki, Kuraba, Panchamasali, and Maratha.

This is the second byelection the Congress is facing after the appointment of Mr. Surjewala as in charge of the party’s affairs in the State. He did not campaign for the byelections held in R.R. Nagar and Sira constituencies. The central leader of the party would campaign in Basavakalyan and Maski constituencies on Sunday. On Monday, he would leave for Delhi via Hyderabad, sources in the Congress said.

The Congress has assigned the tasks of campaign to former Ministers and legislators town municipal council wise to ensure victory of the party in both the Assembly constituencies.