HYDERABAD: Congress MP from Malkajgiri A Revanth Reddy alleged that there is a big scam behind the State government’s decision to hike liquor prices. In an open letter to the public on Tuesday, Revanth claimed that the entire liquor business is in the hands of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his supporters, and urged the Centre to launch a CBI probe into the matter.
He accused the CM of turning the Prohibition and Excise Department into a money-making body and indirectly collecting “Kalvakuntla Sales Tax” (KST) by hiking liquor prices to line his own pockets.
While stating that the government had earned `10,500 crore revenue from sale of liquor in 2014-15 and in the subsequent years, the annual revenue increased by `2,500 crore, Revanth said that is leading to the common man suffering financially. The Congress leader demanded the government to rollback the prices and also threatened to knock on the doors of the courts if the government fails to do so.
Shut illegal belt shops, says Jeevan Reddy
Meanwhile, Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy alleged that KCR has turned the Prohibition and Excise Department into a welfare department to getting additional funds. Alleging that besides the liquor shops, belt shops are being run illegally in the State illegally, he demand the government to shut those shops and stop such practices.