VIJAYAWADA: Mocking the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government for not willing to disclose the names of the owners of distilleries supplying liquor to the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL), State BJP chief Daggubati Purandeswari said 16 companies out of 100 plus registered with the APSBCL are supplying 74% of liquor quantity. Some important distilleries among the 16 are owned by YSRC MPs V Vijayasai Reddy and PV Mithun Reddy, she claimed.
Speaking to mediapersons at the State BJP office in Vijayawada on Wednesday, she said the YSRC government changed the liquor policy on October 2, 2019 to take over all the liquor shops, and the APSBCL, which has to provide liquor to all the retail outlets in the State, started sourcing from the distilleries registered with it.
“As I have mentioned earlier, several of the distilleries were taken over by YSRC leaders, like Adan Distilleries, which has been given Rs 1,164.86 crore order. It is backed by Vijayasai Reddy. Ironically, the company does not own any distillery, instead sub-leased manufacture of liquor to Visakha Distilleries owned by Chintakayala Rajesh, and PMK Distilleries owned by Putta Mahesh,” she said.
SPY Agro, which was taken over forcibly by YSRC MP Mithun Reddy, was given Rs 1,863 crore order, which produces liquor under the brands that came to light only after 2019, she said and mentioned other liquor manufacturers and orders given to them.
“Jagan, who promised to jail those who produce or sell liquor, should explain what action he intends to take against them. He should also explain to the people as to what happened to his promise of implementing total prohibition in a phased manner,” she demanded to know, while reiterating her charge that excise revenue was being diverted.