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Former Ministers Chelluboyina Venugopala Krishna, Anil Kumar Yadav and Vidadala Rajini strongly condemned the arrest of former Minister Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, calling it an "act of political vendetta" by the TDP-led coalition government.
In a joint statement, they said a "false case" was created to target YSRCP leaders and that Karumuri, a senior BC leader, was unfairly arrested in Hyderabad over alleged irregularities in liquor transportation. They recalled that his son Sunil was also arrested earlier and said the "entire family was being deliberately targeted". They said liquor procurement and sales during the YSRCP government were conducted transparently. "Illegal liquor was curbed, the number of liquor shops was reduced and retail outlets were operated by the government. Permit rooms and belt shops were also abolished". The former Ministers said that, in contrast, serious irregularities had taken place during Chandrababu Naidu's 2014-19 government. They accused the then government of scrapping privilege fees to benefit bars, purchasing liquor from selected distilleries and allowing TDP-linked syndicates to dominate liquor shops. Belt shops and permit rooms flourished, while liquor was allegedly sold above MRP. They said a case was subsequently registered against Chandrababu Naidu over alleged irregularities in liquor procurement and sales. They accused the TDP coalition government of trying to divert attention from that case by creating allegations against the previous YSRCP government. They also referred to the imprisonment of two former senior officials in connection with the case, the statement added. They demanded an end to the targeting of BC leaders and YSRCP functionaries and warned that people would give the coalition government a fitting response if such a political vendetta continued. (ANI)
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