Bengaluru: Opposition leaders in the legislative assembly and council, R Ashoka and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, Sunday alleged a Rs 3,000-crore rip-off in the excise department, citing a contemporary Lokayukta raid and accused the government of accumulating bribes to renew liquor licences and pain new permits.
Whereas addressing newshounds, Ashoka released an audio clip purportedly that ideas a stakeholder who spoke about the significance of “Vitamin M” in securing a microbrewery licence with out administrative hurdles. Per the clip, Ashoka alleged bribes of Rs 2.5 crore were being demanded for every licence.
“When a Rs 25 lakh bribe was being paid, the Lokayukta SP caught them red-handed,” he claimed. He stated the excise department capabilities below the finance department, making the executive minister instantly accountable.
“If excise minister RB Timmapur does not resign, we will take it to mean the CM is involved in the scam,” he stated. The senior BJP functionaries claimed the total label of the alleged rip-off stood at Rs 3,567 crore. Basically basically basically based on them, 750 CL-7 licences were issued after accumulating bribes starting from Rs 1.2 crore and Rs 1.5 crore, amounting to Rs 1,125 crore in all. They extra alleged that 650 CL-2 licences involving bribes of Rs 1.5 crore every, totalling Rs 975 crore, whereas 92 CL-9 licences were allegedly issued at Rs 1 crore every.
Microbreweries, they claimed, were being charged Rs 2.5 crore every for 550 licences, totalling Rs 1,375 crore.
They furthermore raised concerns over what they known as “rogue behaviour in jails, the prevalence of drug use in Karnataka — which they claimed was as high as 12% among schoolchildren — and alleged threats faced by bureaucrats. “The CM pulled up police in the day outdated to this’s overview meeting for having no shame. This follows Maharashtra police animated folks in Karnataka,” Ashoka said. Narayanaswamy added that his party was in possession of documents related to a Rs 1,716-crore tender awarded to a single firm for a 15-year period, and said legal action was being considered in the matter.
