BJP alleges Rs 700-cr liquor scam, seeks excise minister’s ouster

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, November 6, 2024: Accusing the Congress government of being involved in a “Rs 700-crore liquor scam,” Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to sack Excise Minister R B Thimmapur.

Citing a letter by the Federation of Wine Merchants’ Association Karnataka, Bengaluru, to the chief minister, excise minister and other officials, Ashoka said there were allegations against the minister of accepting bribes to approve the transfer of officials, renewal of liquor shops’ licences and extorting hafta from liquor outlets. The letter had sought a change of the excise minister, he added.

The Wine Merchants’ Association has alleged that CL7 bar licences were given at a bribe amount of anywhere between Rs 30-70 lakh by the minister. In the last one year, 1,000 such illegal licences were given by the excise minister, amounting to Rs 300-700 crore in corruption.”

State BJP president B Y Vijayendra also lambasted the Congress for running a “staggering extortion racket.”

“Under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Congress-led government, corruption is not just a scandal - it’s a lifestyle. In the latest chapter of his 17-month epic of graft, the Karnataka Wine Merchants Association exposes the staggering extortion racket run by excise minister R B Thimmapur,” Vijayendra said in a tweet on X.

Recalling the “40% commission” allegations on the previous BJP government, the state BJP president accused the chief minister of remaining silent now.

“If Siddaramaiah has any political integrity left, he must immediately sack Minister Thimmapur and order a Lokayukta probe,” he added.