The Andhra Pradesh liquor scam that reportedly took place during the previous government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress party is creating tremors in the political circles due to the arrest of several high-profile individuals from prominent bureaucrats to bigwig politicians to notable advisors. The arrest of YSRCP MP Mithun Reddy, who is a close aide and loyal supporter of Jagan, has marked a significant turn in the ongoing probe by the special investigation team.
On Saturday, SIT authorities have filed a 300 page charge sheet which reportedly shed light on how crores of money earned through a distorted liquor policy by compromising the terms of conditions and flouting the norms were routed to some prominent individuals linked with the ruling party. It is of no surprise that the name of former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy surfaced in the charge sheet at several findings noted by the CID authorities.
It is an open secret that YS Jagan Mohan and his close associates siphoned off crores of money through the contentious liquor policy during the 2019-2024 period. Immediately after coming to power, Jagan’s government cancelled the licenses and didn’t call for tenders from the public players. Instead, the government directly took control of the outlets and sold liquor at the behest of those who were in power. Several low quality brands were sold in the name of new companies at prohibitive prices.
What the previous government did was nothing but a day light robbery in the name of liquor sale and all this could happen without the notice of the Chief Minister is far-fetched. Only those in Jagan’s coterie called shots with regard to formulation of the policy and allotment of licenses to distilleries.
Investigation officers had so far arrested 12 persons. They included Mithun Reddy, Kessireddy Rajashekar Reddy, former IT Adviser to former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy; K. Dhanunjaya Reddy, Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office; Krishna Mohan Reddy, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to then Chief Minister; director of Bharati Cements Balaji Govindappa, former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, Rajashekar Reddy’s personal assistant Dilip Kumar, Chanikya, and Sajjala Sridhar Reddy.
In the capacity of Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy might not have a direct role in the commission of this fraud, but the key findings of the investigation team and the manner in which such a huge scam was orchestrated clearly points all fingers towards the ‘Mastermind’ who was behind this embezzlement.
