Guntur: YSR Congress Party state coordinator Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy strongly criticised Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for running a “diversion drama” to escape from the exposure of the spurious liquor mafia operating under TDP rule.

Speaking at a meeting of YSRCP state secretaries (Parliament) at the party central office on Tuesday, he said Naidu is behaving shamelessly and irresponsibly out of fear of being caught in the fake liquor scam. He said that fake liquor is being openly manufactured and distributed under the protection of the TDP government, and instead of ordering a transparent investigation, Naidu is trying to falsely implicate YSRCP leaders. He said that the so-called liquor verification app launched by Naidu is a self-goal that proves the existence of large-scale spurious liquor in the state.

“In the history of India, no Chief Minister ever launched an app to check whether liquor is fake or original. If Chandrababu has brought such an app, it means fake liquor is being produced and sold under his regime. Belt shops and permit rooms are running 24x7 across the state under TDP supervision, and fake liquor is being door-delivered,” he said. Describing TDP’s tactics as cheap diversion politics, he said: “Suddenly a man is brought from Africa, given red carpet treatment, and used to take political revenge. They are dragging the name of former minister Jogi Ramesh without a shred of evidence. These conspiracies prove only one thing: Chandrababu is terrified because the fake liquor mafia controlled by his party has been exposed.”