K'taka BJP leaders running away from toll gate issue: Congress leader

Mangaluru: Congress deputy leader in the Karnataka assembly U T Khader on Wednesday alleged that BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel and other saffron party MLAs in Dakshina Kannada district are running away from the people’s protest against the toll gate at Surathkal here.

Addressing reporters, he said Kateel, who is also the Dakshina Kannada MP, is trying to put the blame on Congress for the toll gate which was set up during UPA rule while trying to hide the fact that there was no toll gate at nearby Hejamady at the time.

He said people are protesting against the existence of two toll gates within a distance of 10 km.

Kateel has been assuring people that the Surathkal toll plaza will be removed every now and then, which has not yet been fulfilled, Khader said.

The local MP and MLAs of the ruling party should urgently take up the matter with the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and resolve the issue, he said.