Vijayawada: Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan has said there were more irregularities in the excise department than was stated in the White Paper tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Speaking on the White Paper in the Assembly, he said that the liquor scam has caused a loss of Rs 18,000 crore to the state exchequer. The culprits of the scam should be strictly punished.
Pawan Kalyan said, "We were very happy when the Centre allocated Rs 15,000 crore for Amaravati. The Polavaram project could have been completed with the Rs 18,000 crore from the excise department, if the loot had not taken place.”
“We can punish an ordinary employee who took a bribe of Rs 20,000. Similarly, those who have committed huge loot should not be let off. A feeling that there is no punishment for political leaders' wrongdoings should not arise. The Budget should earmark funds for de-addiction centres to help reduce alcohol addiction in the state,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister reportedly expressed his displeasure over wrong information provided by the officials regarding unlawful diversion of funds to the Gram Panchayats.
According to the sources, Pawan disagreed with the system of brief answers like ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘does not arise’ by various government departments to the questions raised by legislators in the Assembly. He instructed the officers to give correct answers to the questions from legislators.
