Bengaluru: Karnataka Wine Merchants Association has called for excise minister RB Timmapur to be replaced and has set a deadline of Nov 20 for chief minister Siddaramaiah to act on their demand. The association claims Timmapur took massive bribes to transfer department officials and to renew liquor shop licences, claims which the minister has denied.
"If the chief minister does not give in to our demand and end corruption, we will shut all liquor shops on Nov 20 in protest," said S Guruswamy, president of the association. "We will also petition the governor and CBI."
Meanwhile, BJP further fanned allegations, with opposition leader R Ashoka on Wednesday demanding a CBI investigation into what he claimed was a "Rs 900 crore corruption scam". Ashoka also called for Timmapur's resignation, claiming the minister collected "Rs 18 crore weekly", accumulating an annual total of Rs 900 crore.
"The association has provided detailed accounts of bribes taken by officials at all levels and this money was systematically shared," Ashoka said. "Details of rates fixed for different posts are also included." Ashoka criticised Siddaramaiah for his silence on the issue and wondered how the CM could penalise the minister since he himself was facing similar allegations.
The opposition leader also demanded action against women and child welfare minister Laxmi Hebbalkar after her personal secretary was accused of abetment to suicide involving a second-grade assistant in Belagavi's tahsildar's office. It is said the official had sent a message prior to taking his life but it was ignored by senior officials. Ashoka listed recent suicides of govt employees all allegedly linked to bribery and accused the govt of being "merciless".
‘Rs 16 crore from transfers'
The wine merchants' association had submitted a letter to the governor, chief secretary, and Lokayukta on Tuesday, alleging newly posted district commissioners, superintendents, and deputy superintendents in the department had to pay hefty bribes for their appointments. The association claimed the excise minister pocketed Rs 16 crore from transfers and postings alone.
On Wednesday, Guruswamy said officials routinely harass liquor shop owners until they pay bribes. "Officials inspect our stock and licences, raise issues, slap cases, and impose penalties of Rs 50,000 if we don't pay up," he said. "Monthly ‘hafta' is fixed for each shop [around Rs 8,000 per shop], and we have to pay Rs 1 lakh for every licence renewal. Shifting a shop could cost anywhere between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. Even the request for name change of licensee would set you back Rs 5 lakh. The transfer of a licence to a family member following the licencee's demise also requires huge sums of money."
Guruswamy added that many wine merchants were facing crippling debts of Rs 3-4 crore, and that they would not survive if the govt refuses to take urgent action to curb corruption.
In a related development, an RTI activist, Ajith, reportedly wrote to both Siddaramaiah and the governor, claiming Timmapur is extorting between Rs 180 crore and Rs 200 crore annually for officer transfers, in addition to another Rs 180 crore (Rs 15 crore per month) in "monthly money" from wine merchants.
Timmapur Tuesday dismissed all charges and promised action against officials involved in harassing retail liquor sellers.