The spurious liquor racket unearthed recently in Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district has triggered major political tremors across the state, with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led coalition government, headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, going all out to link the case to the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
As the YSRCP began using the controversy as a weapon to attack the TDP, the Naidu government launched a counter-campaign alleging that senior YSRCP leader Jogi Ramesh has close ties with one of the main accused.
As part of this effort, the TDP reportedly began an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) campaign, calling the public and highlighting alleged links between former minister Jogi Ramesh and Addepalli Janardhan Rao, the prime accused in the case.
Objecting to this campaign, Jogi Ramesh lodged a police complaint on Friday, questioning why such propaganda was being spread while the official investigation was still underway.
He, along with other YSRCP leaders, submitted a formal complaint to the Additional Director General (ADG) at the DGP’s office in Mangalagiri.
Jogi Ramesh alleged that leaders of the TDP-led alliance, “caught red-handed in the fake liquor scandal,” were resorting to malicious propaganda through IVRS calls to divert public attention.
“Unable to face public outrage after being exposed in the spurious liquor scam, the coalition leaders have resorted to diversionary politics,” Jogi Ramesh told reporters. “Their only goal is to sling mud at the YSR Congress Party using the yellow media.”
He demanded an inquiry into the IVRS campaign to identify those behind it and called for strict action against the culprits. He also sought a CBI probe into the case.
Meanwhile, the police are trying to build strong evidence against Jogi Ramesh by interrogating the arrested accused.
On Friday, prime accused Janardhan Rao reportedly made sensational claims during SIT interrogation, stating that he started the spurious liquor business with encouragement from Jogi Ramesh.
“Jogi Ramesh promised to help us with ₹3 crore since we were financially struggling. He even said that with that money, we could set up a distillery in Africa,” Janardhan Rao allegedly told investigators.
He further claimed that, with the help of Jayachandra Reddy, he began manufacturing counterfeit liquor at Mulakalacheruvu, allegedly to defame the chief minister.
“I got into the business out of greed,” he confessed. “During the previous YSRCP regime, I worked with Jogi Ramesh in the illegal liquor trade. We stopped during election surveillance, but later, as my debts piled up, I accepted his offer,” the prime accused told investigators.
