YSRCP Accuses TDP Government of Running ‘Nation’s Biggest Spurious Liquor Scam’

Visakhapatnam, Oct 2025 : YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) women’s wing president and MLC Varudu Kalyani has alleged that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led coalition government is pushing Andhra Pradesh into what she called the “biggest spurious liquor scam in the country.”

Addressing the media in Visakhapatnam, Kalyani launched a fierce attack on the government, claiming that under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s rule, “everything in the state has turned adulterated — from drinking water and hospital medicines to children’s meals and, most dangerously, liquor.”

“During Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure, Andhra Pradesh was known as Vidya Andhra (for education) and Vaidya Andhra (for healthcare). But under Naidu, it has become Madhya Andhra Pradesh — the state of liquor. One in every three bottles sold is spurious. TDP leaders have turned illegal liquor brewing into a cottage industry,” she charged.

Kalyani cited the recent Mulakalacheruvu bust, where 17,000 litres of spurious liquor worth ₹1.75 crore were seized, as proof of a deep-rooted nexus. She alleged that TDP leaders, constituency in-charges, and their relatives were running illicit liquor factories near Vijayawada and Eluru, with the network extending as far as Visakhapatnam.

“Even Excise Department officials have confirmed TDP’s involvement. Yet, instead of prosecuting the culprits, the government punished a woman Circle Inspector who exposed the scam,” she said, demanding a CBI investigation into the racket.

Kalyani reminded that YSRCP MP Mithun Reddy had already written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking a central probe. She also criticised Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan for his “conspicuous silence” despite his earlier stance against liquor proliferation.

Meanwhile, YSRCP leader and former minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) accused Chandrababu Naidu and his party of “hypocrisy, double standards, and protecting hardened criminals.”

“Driven by greed, the TDP father–son duo have committed countless wrongs. Even the Excise Department is shocked by the scale of fake liquor manufacturing,” Nani said.

He pointed out that licensed distilleries now face illegal competition from spurious units like those in Mulakalacheruvu, with earlier seizures in Amalapuram, Parawada (Anakapalli), and Nellore revealing the racket’s statewide reach. Popular liquor brands, he added, are being counterfeited and distributed from Eluru, Repalle, and Amalapuram, all linked to the Mulakalacheruvu hub.

“The scam only came to light because of internal fights among TDP leaders over profit sharing,” Nani said, questioning why ministers from affected districts have stayed silent.

“Why hasn’t the Prohibition and Excise Minister reacted? Why is Lokesh, who tweets endlessly, quiet now? Even Chandrababu, who rushes to microphones for trivial issues, has not uttered a word,” he asked.