Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday accused opposition parties, particularly the YSRCP, of spreading propaganda on adulterated liquor to gain political mileage. He warned that the government will take strict action against those spreading misinformation about deaths allegedly caused by spurious liquor.

Addressing Ministers and officials at AP Secretariat, the CM said fear-mongering campaigns falsely claim that one in three liquor bottles is adulterated and that lives are being lost across the State. “People are being misled with fabricated stories. We must expose such political conspiracies,” Naidu said. He instructed officials to investigate every death attributed to adulterated liquor, including conducting postmortems where necessary, and to take legal action against perpetrators of misinformation, whether in traditional media or social media.

Ministers Kollu Ravindra and Nara Lokesh attended the meeting in person, while others, including Home Minister Vanagalapudi Anitha, joined via video conference. Naidu cited past incidents, including the 2019 Y S Vivekananda Reddy murder case, as examples of what he described as political theatrics. The CM stressed that Ministers must actively counter false narratives by presenting facts to the public.

The CM said that the government has responded to every genuine incident and is fulfilling its election promises. “Our work is being twisted into propaganda. As public representatives, it is our duty to guide citizens with truth and clarity,” he said.

Naidu also said that over the past 15 months, non-duty paid liquor from other States has been curtailed, and he called for closer coordination between the excise, enforcement, and police departments to eliminate adulterated liquor entirely.

Officials briefed the CM on the Mulakalacheravu case in Annamayya district, reporting that 21 accused have been identified, with 12 already arrested. Prime accused Addepalli Janardhan Rao and his brother Addepalli Jagan Mohan Rao, operating from ANR Bar and Restaurant in Ibrahimpatnam, are alleged to have manufactured and sold adulterated liquor for profit over 15 years. Investigations have uncovered adulterated liquor bottles, and authorities are examining business transactions, call records, and other links. Three suspects have been arrested, four are being interrogated under preventive warrants, and the remaining accused will be apprehended soon.