Hyderabad:
It's a major hiccup for the Andhra Pradesh government. A report prepared by the state's Anti-Corruption Board allegedly includes a minister, M Venkataramana, among politicians who accepted bribes from the liquor lobby.
Mr Venkataramana, who is the Excise Minister, denies the charges. "I requested Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to order a thorough probe into these allegations. I am ready to quit my post within seconds if I am proved guilty. I have nothing to do with the person who made allegations that he paid kickbacks to me," he said.
A liquor trader named Nunna Venkata Ramana who operates in the Warangal and Khammam districts allegedly told anti-graft officials that he paid the minister 10 lakhs at his residence in Hyderabad as "protection money." Politicians from other parties have been named as well by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, based on its investigations. Its officials have been raiding liquor syndicates for a series of legal violations. They say they've uncorked a close arrangement between bureaucrats, politicians and businessmen.
Alcohol is sold at prices higher than the Maximum Retail Price listed on bottles; wine shops are allowed to stay open well past what the law permits; and the liquor lobby collects protection money from them which is then passed on to politicians and bureaucrats.
Mr Venkataramana, who is the Excise Minister, denies the charges. "I requested Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to order a thorough probe into these allegations. I am ready to quit my post within seconds if I am proved guilty. I have nothing to do with the person who made allegations that he paid kickbacks to me," he said.
A liquor trader named Nunna Venkata Ramana who operates in the Warangal and Khammam districts allegedly told anti-graft officials that he paid the minister 10 lakhs at his residence in Hyderabad as "protection money." Politicians from other parties have been named as well by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, based on its investigations. Its officials have been raiding liquor syndicates for a series of legal violations. They say they've uncorked a close arrangement between bureaucrats, politicians and businessmen.
Alcohol is sold at prices higher than the Maximum Retail Price listed on bottles; wine shops are allowed to stay open well past what the law permits; and the liquor lobby collects protection money from them which is then passed on to politicians and bureaucrats.
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