Govt extorting Rs 200 cr a month at checkposts: HDK

JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday charged that the state government was collecting around Rs 200 crore every month at transport checkposts using hired goondas.

He accused the Congress government of collecting thousands of crores of rupees to fund the upcoming Assembly elections.

Speaking to reporters here, Kumaraswamy said if the government does not shut down the checkposts and put an end to this illegal practice in the next 15 days, his party workers will picket the checkposts.

Kumaraswamy said that after the Centre introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST), checkposts across the country were being closed.

But the same was not happening in Karnataka. "Instead of closing the checkposts, the government has hired goondas to collect money from vehicle owners. For every inspector, there are four such goondas at each of these checkposts. This is a multi-crore scam. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been giving an impression that he is the most honest politician, but the word 'fake' suits him the best," he said.

Kumaraswamy said more than Rs 30 lakh was being collected from each checkpost every day, and that the transport and home ministers had turned a blind eye to it.

Though thousands of vehicles owners were being threatened on a daily basis, none of the investigation agencies was bothered.

Kumaraswamy said Siddaramaiah, who called himself a "socialist", tended to dress expensively. "Siddaramaiah is busy calling the opposition leaders fake, but the fact is that he is more hypocritical. For instance, he owns pairs of shoes that are worth Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 each," he added.

Social media

The JD(S), which is trying to increase its social media presence, has decided to go live 24/7 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Cloud Sound and Pinterest to update information like Kumaraswamy's tour itinerary, his speeches and party activities.