Andhra Pradesh: CID To Probe 'Liquor Scam' During Jagan Mohan Reddy-Led YSRCP Government, Says CM Chandrababu Naidu

The Andhra Pradesh government has ordered a CID inquiry into the Excise policy implemented under YSRCP's dispensation headed by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“It is one of the biggest scams in Andhra Pradesh,” Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said while releasing a White Paper on the subject in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (24 July).

Naidu assured that the CID would conduct a thorough probe, while the irregularities in cash transactions will also be referred to the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

He emphasised that there would be no political vendetta but assured strict action against those involved in the scam.

Naidu said that out of Rs 99,413 crore worth of retail sales over the past five years, only Rs 615 crore was through digital payments, which he termed as "an irregular conduct of operation.”

Suspecting illegal monetary gains, Naidu accused Jagan Mohan Reddy of floating benami distilleries and procuring sub-standard liquor and beers from them through the A P State Beverages Corporation Limited.

“Due to the flawed and inconsistent policy brought by Jagan Mohan Reddy, the State exchequer suffered loss of more than Rs 18,860 crore between 2019-24,” the Chief Minister said, The Hindu reported.

“There is corruption in the entire liquor supply chain. At the production level, there were instances of forcible takeover of existing companies, intimidating old entities, delays in payments and stoppage of orders to multinational companies. At the procurement level, manual or discretionary procedure was adopted due to collusion of officers. At the marketing level, Jagan Mohan Reddy monopolised the entire sales at the retail shops,” Naidu said.

The removal of low-priced liquor stocks and abnormal increase in prices became unbearable for the consumers. It forced the poor, who could not afford the prices, to depend on adulterated liquor manufactured locally, according to Naidu.

He added that the substandard liquor supplied had a negative effect on consumers.

According to Naidu, suicides related to alcohol or drug addiction increased 100 per cent in 2022 compared to 2018 as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS), emotional, physical, or sexual violence by husband when drunk was put at 76.4 per cent and the sufferers were women aged between 15-49. Liver and kidney ailments increased.

He added that the number of outpatients at the Guntur alcohol de-addiction centre alone jumped from 343 in 2020 to 4,913 in 2023.

Naidu criticised the previous government for indiscriminately mobilising loans through the APSBCL without considering the State's future.

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