Rebutting the Telugu Desam Party’s allegation that the deaths that had been reported at Jangareddygudem in West Godavari district recently were due to consumption of cheap liquor, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday asserted that it was all malicious propaganda unleashed at the behest of former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy claimed that the deaths were natural, and that the members of the bereaved families were upset with the “politicisation of the tragedy” that had struck them.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy insisted that there was no cheap liquor at all in the State and that liquor available at the outlets being run by the AP State Beverages Corporation Limited was duly processed and checked for quality as per IS 4449 (whisky) and IS 4450 (brandy) standards.
Of the 20 existing distilleries, 14 were given permission during the TDP rule, of which seven were sanctioned between 2016 and May 14, 2019, when Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was at the helm, he said.
“The 254 brands of liquor, including ‘President’s Medal’, ‘Governor’s Reserve’ etc. being sold now were given permits during the TDP term between 2014 and 2019. Should we consider them to be cheap liquor brands,” Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy questioned, pointing out that the Opposition stooped to such a low level that it had created fake labels in the name of ‘three capitals’ and ‘special status’ to make a mockery of the YSRCP government.
Participating in a short discussion on liquor policy in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy maintained that his government neither permitted a single new brand of liquor nor gave licence to any distillery or brewery. Instead, the government jacked up the prices. But, it had to restore the old prices to check smuggling of liquor from other States, he added.
He alleged that some distilleries belong to the TDP leaders, who were raising a hue and cry on what they made out to be cheap liquor menace.
Prohibition
The Chief Minister went on to say that 43,000 belt shops were closed and the number of liquor shops was brought down from 4,380 to 2,934 as part of the government’s efforts to implement prohibition in a phased manner.
He recalled that Mr. Naidu had done away with prohibition, a promise that catapulted his father-in-law N.T. Rama Rao to power in 1994, as he felt that the loss of revenue was hitting the State exchequer badly. Mr. Naidu, therefore, had no moral right to talk about prohibition, the Chief Minister said.
The YSRCP government had formed a Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) to crack down on the illegal liquor business, which was evident from the registration of one lakh cases in just two-and-a-half years, against 1.82 lakh cases booked during the TDP term, he said.
Schemes such as Amma Vodi, YSR Aasara, Cheyutha, Jagananna Colonies, Kapu Nestham and EBC Nestham benefited lakhs of women. Similarly, 31 lakh house sites were distributed in the name of women, for whose protection Disha Bill was brought. These were some of the major women empowerment measures taken by the YSRCP government, which were apparently not to the liking of Mr. Naidu, the Chief Minister said.
