Leaders of YSRCP, TDP trade barbs over respective liquor policies

YSRCP and TDP leaders clash over liquor policies, with allegations of scams and unfair wine shop allocations.

Leaders of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have blamed each other over their respective governments’ liquor policies.

TDP leader and Sarvepalli MLA Somireddy Chandra Mohan Reddy alleged a liquor scam worth thousands of crores during the YSRCP regime, while Nellore YSRCP president Kakani Govardhan Reddy criticised the new liquor policy.

In response to former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s recent tweet on X, Mr. Somireddy said: “Jagan Mohan Reddy has earned thousands of crores by holding liquor distilleries for five years. Chandrababu Naidu brought the lottery system for transparent allotment of the wine shops, and this has brought a revenue of about ₹5,000 crores to the State exchequer.”

He further alleged: “Jagan’s liquor brands in Andhra Pradesh have become the laughing stock of the country. He has taken commission of ₹250-350 per crate of 48 bottles, and earned more than ₹250 crore per month. Sadly, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were jailed for months on charges for ₹100-crore Delhi liquor scam. Even after a thousand crore scam, Jagan is living a guilt-free life.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Kakani alleged that over 90% of wine shops allocated through the lottery system recently were awarded to the leaders of the NDA parties. “The lottery winners are sharing the wine shops to the syndicates on a 60-40 basis. CM at the state level, MLAs at the constituency level, and the cadre at the village level will rob people through belt shops,” he said.

Speaking to The Hindu, Nellore Deputy Excise Commissioner T. Srinivasa Rao debunked all the allegations on the wine shop allocation through the lottery system. “District Collector and Joint Collector have taken the lottery, and the entire process was done transparently in the presence of officials and other delegates. We are ready for any inquiry on this,” he said.