Sukhu govt indulging in 'liquor scam', says Jairam Thakur

Shimla: Leader of Opposition in Himachal Pradesh, Jairam Thakur, on Thursday accused the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government of indulging in 'liquor scam', saying it is "deliberately increasing the liquor contracts and colluding with big contractors".

"For setting up bigger units, more money is required to get contracts. Small traders stay away from the tender process and government officials are colluding with business houses. The tenders opened at many places even below the reserve price. This was possible due to the connivance of the government. Otherwise, these tenders should have been cancelled," BJP leader and former chief minister Thakur told media persons.

He said the tenders for liquor had to be floated again. "The most shocking thing is that at these places, everyone quoted rates lower than the reserve price in the tender."

He said the auction of liquor was stopped in Una, Nurpur and Kangra due to pressure. "Who is involved in the liquor business there? Who is protecting them? The entire state knows this."

Thakur said the government has "defrauded" the state's revenue in the name of liquor policy.

"There should be an impartial investigation of this issue. From the Vidhan Sabha to the road, the Chief Minister is only telling lie after lie. Everywhere he says that there has been a 40 per cent revenue gain due to the liquor policy but the truth is that the contracts have been sold to his people at throwaway prices,” the BJP leader said.

"Contractors have not yet deposited the money of the last auction. They are seeking relief from the High Court. The Congress had also auctioned contracts by creating a big unit during its last tenure. Due to which license fees of Rs 200 crore remained pending."

Thakur said the government is comparing the revenue collection during the COVID-19 period.

"For two years the whole world was in lockdown. All economic activities were closed. Liquor shops were closed for a long time and if the Chief Minister is comparing the profit of that time with this time, then I have nothing to say on this, the people of the state know what kind of a period it was," Thakur added.