AP Liquor: Chandrababu Naidu and TDP Face Criticism from YSRCP

YSRCP slammed TDP coalition leaders for deliberately controlling the state's liquor industry by ensuring that 90% of the wine shopss allocated through the lottery system were awarded to TDP coalition leaders, with the process overseen by its MLAs, as part of a pre-planned strategy to benefit the party’s leaders and their associates.

Speaking to the media party office in Nellore, former minister Kakanin Govardhan Reddy said that the wine shops are dominated by a syndicate controlled by TDP coalition, and pointed out that this influence also extends to  other sectors like sand, gravel, education, and healthcare. He said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was skillfully exploiting these resources for personal and political gain and the liquor policy was framed solely to benefit TDP coalition leaders and their supporters.

Kakani Govardhan Reddy also stated that all distilleries in the state are under TDP leaders’ control, and that low-quality liquor will be sold cheaply, while other alcohol is priced much higher. He further stated that  these syndicates will supply substandard liquor at low prices while profiting from selling better-quality liquor at inflated rates. He expressed concern over the increasing number of illegal liquor outlets, known as belt shops, and warned that home delivery of liquor may soon be introduced, worsening the situation for the public.

Kakani said the new liquor policy was designed to favor TDP leaders, and it became evident after the wine shop allocations. The former minister highlighted that under the previous government, all revenue from liquor sales went directly into the state treasury. However, he pointed that under the current TDP-led government, liquor syndicates are dividing this revenue among themselves, depriving the state of much-needed funds.

Speaking to the media at a separate press conference in Vishakapatnam, former minister Gudivada Amarnath  explained that most wine shops were allocated to TDP-affiliated individuals, leading to an uncontrolled increase in liquor availability throughout the state, including the opening of belt shops. He contrasted this with the efforts of the previous YSRCP government, which, upon coming to power in 2019, closed 43,000 belt shops and reduced the number of wine shops from 4,500 to 2,900, in a bid to safeguard poor families from the harmful effects of alcohol.

The former minister also said  Naidu's administration may introduce  a door-to-door liquor delivery scheme that would only worsen the state's alcohol problem. Amarnath called for the immediate repeal of the liquor policy, cautioning that if the government did not respond, the public, particularly the poor, would rise in protest against its detrimental effects.

Earlier, YSRCP chief YS Jagan too came down heavily on Chandrababu Naidu over his alleged misgovernance.

1.లిక్కర్‌ మాఫియాకు, సిండికేట్లకు ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్‌ అడ్డాగా మారిపోయింది. ఈ మాఫియాకు సూత్రధారి, పాత్రధారి మీరు కాదా చంద్రబాబుగారూ? అత్యంత పారదర్శకంగా నడుస్తున్న ప్రభుత్వ మద్యం దుకాణాలను మూసివేసి, వాటిని ప్రయివేటుకు, మీవారికి అప్పగించాలన్న మీ నిర్ణయం అవినీతికోసం వేసిన స్కెచ్‌ కాదా? మీ…

— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) October 14, 2024