The Communist Party of India (CPI) in Andhra Pradesh has demanded that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged liquor scam in the State.
Addressing the media here on Monday, CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna said the liquor shops in the State sold spurious liquor at exorbitant prices, and accused the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) of benefiting from such unethical practices. The harmful ingredients in liquor affected the health of the people severely leading to several deaths, Mr. Ramakrishna alleged.
“The very low digital transactions at liquor shops resulted in suppression of the actual revenue generated from liquor in the State and generation of a huge unaccounted wealth by ruling YSRCP leaders,” he contended. It had become a bad practice for the BJP to selectively use the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to put leaders of opposition parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to trouble, while allowing leaders of some parties like the YSRCP, which had been supporting its sectarian agenda in Parliament, to go scot-free, he charged.
He welcomed Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan’s “bold announcement” of aligning with the TDP for the 2024 elections despite “incurring the wrath of big brother BJP’‘.
“The actor-politician should now strive for bringing together all opposition parties, including the CPI and CPI(M), on a common platform to avoid splitting of anti-establishment votes and paving the way for the defeat of the anti-people Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the State,” Mr. Ramakrishna said, adding that development had come to a standstill in the State with debts mounting to an unsustainable ₹9 lakh crore.
‘‘People of the State do not need Jagan as Chief Minister,” he said referring to the YSRCP’s campaign ‘Why AP needs Jagan as CM’.
“The TDP and JSP should realise that the YSRCP government foisted cases against TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu only with the blessings of the BJP. The Chief Minister and other YSRCP leaders who are facing a plethora of court cases also got a breather thanks to the BJP,” he alleged, adding that while the BJP leaders agreed to meet YSRCP leaders for long hours in Delhi, they denied a meeting to TDP leaders including national general secretary Nara Lokesh who had been camping in the national capital for over 20 days.
He said his party was ready to face the elections any time as the people were eagerly waiting for an opportunity to teach a fitting lesson to the YSRCP in the elections, which he said was trying to win with money and muscle power. The electoral rolls had been fudged in the State by misusing the official machinery, he charged.
