AP Excise Minister Kollu says irregularities in liquor scam during YSR regime will be exposed
VIJAYAWADA: Asserting that every angle of the ‘liquor scam’ that took place during the previous YSRC regime will be exposed, Minister for Mines and Geology and Excise Kollu Ravindra said the irregularities happened right from allotment of distilleries to the sale of liquor.
Replying to a question in the AP Legislative Assembly on Friday, he said the government had already exposed the irregularities in liquor sales during the past five years through a white paper.
Mentioning that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has already announced to order a probe by the CB-CID and even hinted at inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate if required into the irregularities that took place right from manufacturing to the sale of liquor during the regime of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Kollu said the government has primarily identified that irregularities worth Rs 19,000 crore took place in the liquor scam.
Taking advantage of the weakness of tipplers, the previous YSRC regime stopped the sale of popular brands forcing them to consume substandard liquor. This had caused renal and liver diseases to a large number of people, besides resulting in death of thousands of them, he said.
“The previous government reduced the sale of beer by enhancing the prices, and closing the beverage units that used to supply popular brands of beer. At the same time, ganja was made available across the State playing havoc with the lives of the youth and spurt in crimes," he informed.
After taking over all the existing distilleries, elders in the previous regime brought out unpopular brands of liquor and sold them in the government outlets. Ignoring the promise to implement total prohibition when in the Opposition, the YSRC government took over the sales of liquor after coming to power, he said.
Holding Jagan responsible for the death of 20 persons in Jangareddygudem due to consumption of spurious liquor, he said an inquiry will be ordered into all the issues.
