Jagan did a vanishing act from Assembly as he has to answer for liquor scam, says Pawan Kalyan

YSRCP president Jagan Mohan Reddy accused of corruption, faces allegations of a major liquor scam in Andhra Pradesh.

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and Pulivendula MLA Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided to skip the ongoing Assembly session as he will have to answer the House on the corruption that he has committed as Chief Minister in the last five years, Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan alleged on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu presented a White Paper on Excise Policy in the Assembly on July 24 (Wednesday), Mr. Pawan Kalyan said that a major liquor scam was perpetrated by the YSRCP government, and added that those involved in it must be punished severely.

“On one hand, the State government did not have enough funds in the exchequer to distribute to beneficiaries of welfare schemes, whereas on the other hand, some individuals made thousands of crores through the liquor scam,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan alleged.

“Generally, the government punishes officials if they are found to have indulged in corruption. But, in this instance, those who have looted public money are escaping the law. We should not let them get away. The government must punish them. It is not vendetta politics, but we promised the public that we will ensure clean governance. Taking action against those responsible for these crimes is part of that promise,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan said.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju said that the YSRCP leaders were involved in corruption of more than ₹30,000 crore, and said the actual figure could be much higher than the amount that was shown to be misappropriated in the White Paper. “The liquor scam needs to be investigated thoroughly, and the accused should be sent to jail,” he said.

Other members in the Assembly, including Kanumuru Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, Butchaiah Chowdary, G.V. Anjaneyulu, Kona Ravi Kumar, Polisetti Srinivas, Reddappagari Madhavi and others participated in the discussion and demanded an inquiry either by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged scam.

Reacting to the demand from the House, Mr. Naidu said that the case could be investigated by the CID. At the same time, for financial matters, the case would be referred to the Enforcement Directorate, he added.