JD(S), BJP talk in code words to corner Congress over transfers

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, on Sunday, alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had introduced a new tax called ‘YST’, while BJP alleged that Congress was collecting ‘VST’ too.

Though Kumaraswamy did not explain what he meant by ‘YST,’ but dropped enough hints that it was an indirect reference to Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra.

Speaking to reporters at his party headquarters here, Kumaraswamy said that there is a GST (Goods and Services Tax) in the country, but under Siddaramaiah they have introduced ‘some tax called YST’.

Also Read | Irregular earlier, H D Kumaraswamy says he'll attend Assembly daily

When asked to explain what YST meant, he said that the media should investigate who is holding meetings at midnight and convening secret meetings to transfer officials in the state. Kumaraswamy has been making veiled remarks against Yathindra for the last couple of days.

Some time ago, in a series of tweets, he had sought to know from Siddaramaiah which ‘Athindra’ (supreme God) was guiding him to effect transfers.

The use of the term ‘Athindra’ in his tweets was seen as an indirect reference to Yathindra, who was elected to the Assembly from the Varuna constituency in 2018. He vacated his seat for his father in 2023.

The JD(S) leader said the Congress government had too many chief ministers.

“For the first time, people are getting the impression that each department is headed by a separate chief minister,” he said.

The former CM said his party won’t attend the next Opposition unity meeting to be held in Bengaluru on July 13 and 14.

“No one has invited us,” he said.

Echoing Kumaraswamy’s allegations, BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar said the Congress, along with YST, had introduced VST (Venugopal-Siddaramaiah tax).

“I congratulate Kumaraswamy for exposing the Congress and YST tax regime. But the BJP had been saying that Karnataka will become ATM for Delhi. (AICC general secretary) K C Venugopal is monitoring all financial dealings and he is collecting VST from here to fill Congress’ coffers,” he alleged.