Congress and TDP trade charges over rising liquor sales

Hyderabad,June 11: Is rising rural income to be blamed for the increasing liquor consumption in Andhra Pradesh? The government believes so, but the opposition disagrees.The Congress government is under attack from different quarters for encouraging liquor consumption as it earned a record Rs.7,000 crore (Rs.70 billion) from auction of liquor shops for two years earlier this week. Liquor shops in rural areas were sold at a much higher price than in towns and cities. Some shops were sold for as high as Rs.5 crore each. The rise in income of rural households under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is said to have pushed the liquor sales in rural areas. Under the NREGS, which guarantees 100 days of rural employment in a year, a beneficiary is earning a minimum of Rs.100 daily. The state, which is a leader in implementing the NREGS in the country, got Rs.6,500 crore from the centre in 2009-10 and is expected to get Rs.10,000 crore in the current fiscal. The number of beneficiaries under the scheme is over 27.5 million. The revenue from the auction has come as a boon for the government facing a financial crunch. But the opposition is targeting it for encouraging liquor consumption in the state. "The government can't be blamed. The people are getting addicted to vices like liquor due to an increase in their income," said Revenue Minister D. Prasada Rao. Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao too blamed people, saying the government could not be faulted if people were addicted. However, the opposition blames the government for encouraging liquor business. Leader of opposition and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N. Chandrababu Naidu Thursday demanded the government to come out with a white paper on liquor business. "It is very painful that the government is encouraging liquor consumption and backing liquor traders instead of supplying drinking water and providing other basic amenities to people," said Naidu. The former chief minister pointed out that it was the same Congress party which had promised prohibition in a phased manner in the 2004 elections. Naidu alleged that the government relaxed maximum retail price printed on liquor bottle to help liquor traders earn more money in violation of rules and also facilitate kickbacks from them. Congress leaders, however, hit back at Naidu saying he had no right to speak on liquor as it was he who lifted total prohibition in the state. Naidu had lifted prohibition after he unseated his father-in-law and TDP founder N. T. Rama Rao from power in 1995. NTR had imposed prohibition in 1994 following a massive anti-liquor movement by women groups.
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