VIJAYAWADA: Launching a scathing attack on the new excise policy of the TDP-led NDA government, YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of turning Andhra Pradesh into a hub of liquor mafias and private syndicates. He threatened to lead a people’s movement against the new excise policy if the lapses in it are not corrected immediately.
Taking to the social media platform ‘X’, Jagan said, “Naidu’s policies are leading to a massive surge in illegal profits at the expense of the people.”
He alleged that Naidu privatised the government-run liquor shops and handed them over to his allies, which led to skyrocketing prices of liquor well above the Maximum Retail Price. He pointed out that 14 out of 20 distilleries in the State were given approval during previous TDP regime. In contrast, no new distillery was approved by the previous YSRC regime. The new policy had also resulted in loss of 15,000 jobs in government liquor shops, he said.
The former Chief Minister alleged that the State ministers and NDA MLAs were using coercive tactics to control the liquor trade, besides collecting commissions to manipulate the market.
He criticised the new excise policy for reducing the quality of liquor while making it more widely available across the State. Naidu had laid emphasis on boosting the sale of liquor to augment revenue at the expense of public health. The YSRC regime reduced the number of liquor shops and enforced the closure of belt shops. “The new excise policy could push the State back into the dark period of 2014-19, when AP was known as Liquor Pradesh,” Jagan observed.