Mangaluru: The ruling BJP-led administration in the Puttur City Municipal Council is facing backlash from the Congress party for implementing revised tariffs that have been labelled as unfair to small traders and low-income vendors.
At an emergency meeting held on Tuesday, Congress councillors, along with MLA Ashok Rai, sharply criticized the decision, accusing the council of doubling trade licence fees and the solid waste cess, which they claimed would severely impact marginal businesses.
The opposition said that while larger businesses might bear the hike, applying the same increase to petty traders—some earning as little as Rs 3,000 per day—was discriminatory and unjust. They termed the move “anti-poor” and warned that it would add to the burdens of those already struggling to make ends meet.
Congress representatives also disputed BJP claims that the hike was implemented on the directions of the state government, clarifying that no such directive was issued. They accused the ruling party of misleading the public and attempting to shift blame to the Congress-led government in Karnataka.
“This tariff hike is not enforced anywhere else in the state. It’s a unilateral decision by the BJP in Puttur, and now they’re hiding behind false claims,” said MLA Rai. He added that Congress will organize protests to oppose the fee increase and stand with the small business community.
Among those present were councillors Riaz Parladka, Shaila Pai, Basheer Parladka, Sharif Balnadu, Sharada Aras, Krishnaprasad Alva, and KPCC General Secretary MS Mohammed.
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