Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Jun 7: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell head Amit Malviya has launched a sharp attack on the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal, alleging large-scale irregularities in the state’s liquor excise policy.
Citing a media report, Malviya claimed that changes made to the excise framework led to bottlers being charged additional levies on every crate of liquor and beer. He alleged that these funds ultimately benefitted the TMC and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
In a post on social media platform X, Malviya compared the situation to earlier liquor-related controversies elsewhere, claiming a pattern of corruption. He alleged that “thousands of crores” were collected through what he described as forced payments from bottlers under the revised policy.
According to the report referenced by him, the state’s excise policy was modified in 2017, reportedly with the aim of restructuring liquor distribution. The changes allegedly resulted in the creation of a system where private wholesalers were required to pay additional levies, which critics argue increased costs significantly.
The report further claims that the restructuring was justified on administrative grounds such as preventing cartelisation, improving transparency, and ensuring wider availability of liquor across the state. However, it alleges that in practice, the system enabled the diversion of funds away from official government channels.
It is also claimed that a confidential excise department report has been submitted to senior state officials, including the Chief Secretary. However, details regarding any formal investigation or official confirmation of these allegations have not been independently verified.
Malviya further alleged that distributors were required to pay additional charges under the guise of logistics and storage fees, which he claimed were ultimately routed to political interests. These allegations, as reported, have not yet been addressed publicly by the TMC leadership in detail.