Kasaragod: After staying on the sidelines for months, the BJP has entered the fray over the controversial Kumbla toll plaza, doing so a day after the temporary structure was vandalised during protests. The party has now declared the toll plaza illegal, citing a violation of the guidelines set by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

BJP Kasaragod district president Ashwini M L said the temporary toll booth on the National Highway at Arikkady violated the policy of the Union Ministry of Road Transport, which does not permit another toll plaza within a 25-kilometre radius. She said the matter had been taken up with the party’s state and central leadership and expressed confidence that the toll would be removed soon.

BJP was the only party that was not part of the People’s Action Committee against the toll plaza at Kumbla, 20km from the Talapady toll plaza on the border.

Ashwini’s statement came a day after BJP North Zone president K Shreekanth accused INDIA partners -- the IUML and the CPM -- of spreading false narratives to score political points over the Kumbla toll issue.

Shreekanth alleged that Manjeshwar MLA Ashraf and CPM Kumbla Area Committee Secretary C A Zubair were attempting to project a walkout from a meeting that, according to the District Collector, was never convened for political parties or people’s representatives. “How can anyone walk out of a meeting that never took place? This is nothing but a farce and a betrayal of the people,” he said.

He further accused them of deliberately misleading the public for political gain. “Zubair is an agent of the IUML and Ashraf’s conscience-keeper,” Shreekanth alleged. “They are creating unnecessary controversy to earn political brownie points. The people will reject such tactics.”

Contrary to Shreekanth, Ashwini said that the BJP had formally registered its opposition to the toll plaza at Kumbla months ago with the NHAI Regional Officer and other officials against setting up another toll booth within the prohibited distance. She blamed the issue on the obstinacy and erroneous stance of senior NHAI officials, a concern that, she said, had been conveyed to the BJP’s central leadership.

She pointed out that a significant section of residents in Kasaragod and Manjeshwar taluks depend on towns in Karnataka for healthcare, education, and employment, and that the Arikkady toll would impose a heavy financial burden on the public, including higher bus fares.

Ashwini said the BJP’s national leadership had assured the state leadership that the issue would be resolved soon in coordination with MoRTH, and that the district unit was hopeful of a favourable decision at the earliest.

She then accused Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf of staging protests to mislead the public. “As a people’s representative, he has failed to intervene effectively. The current anti-toll protest is an attempt to cover up that failure,” she alleged.

Meanwhile, the police dismantled the MLA’s protest tent and arrested him to break up the agitation against the toll plaza.

The people’s action committee representatives said they are coming up with new ways of protesting against the toll plaza.