The liquor scandal in the State rocked the Assembly on Friday, leading to occasional bouts of pandemonium after Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu blamed Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and some of his Ministers as perpetrators of the muddle. He said it was “run as a well-oiled industry at the cost of the poor and depriving the ex-chequer of the huge revenue”.
The proceedings remained disrupted and din prevailed during the debate on the subject which was finally allowed as sought by the Telugu Desam Party for the past few days, with the main Opposition members shouting full-throated slogans after trooping to the podium many a time.
They sought tabling of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) report on the scandal in the Speaker's chamber for scrutiny by the opposition. The Treasury benches tried to hoot them down by raising equally resounding slogans.
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Agriculture Minister Kanna Laksminarayana, who made a statement on the Chief Minister's behalf earlier, rejected the demand on the ground that the issue was sub-judice.
The matter was being heard by Special Court for ACB cases. “There can't be a conflict between judiciary and legislature.”
He said the ACB searched offices of syndicates covering 350 wine shops and booked 23 cases under various sections of IPC. Twenty syndicate members, 14 accountants and eight excise officials were arrested for criminal conspiracy.
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Mr. Naidu, who was aided by G. Muddukrishnama Naidu, alleged that officials found guilty of the scandal were lodged in jails while about 20 tainted Ministers, were sitting right royal in the House without any sense of shame. He pulled up the Chief Minister for making them privileged before law.
Charges denied
Intervening occasionally, Mr. Reddy denied all the charges and said his ‘transparent' government would take action once the guilt was established in the court.
Ministers -- M. Venkataramana Rao (Excise), D. Prasada Rao (Roads & Buildings) and Kanna Lakshminarayana (Agriculture) -- refuted the allegations levelled against them saying they had no link whatsoever with the scandal.
R. Venkat Reddy (Horticulture) even swore on God that he was not guilty and offered to resign the moment his connection was proved. A fifth Minister, against whom the charges were made, Botcha Satyanarayana (Transport) was not present in the House.
The debate got diverted when Mr. Lakshminarayana alleged that Mr. Muddukrishnama Naidu was caught red-handed by police in the past in Guntur district while playing cards.
A remark made by Mr. Chandrababu Naidu that his son and daughter-in-law studied in Stanford University and that Congress leaders should teach their children good education and culture, instead of leaving them to indulge in “petty activities”, sparked off another uproar from the Congress benches.