KTR takes dig at AP BJP over liquor, gets trolled

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) working president and IT minister K. T. Rama Rao on Wednesday took a dig at BJP over BJP Andhra Pradesh state unit president Somu Veerraju's promise of providing liquor for `50 if BJP was voted to power in AP.

“Wah... What a scheme! What a shame. AP BJP stoops to a new low,” (sic) tweeted Rama Rao.

Rama Rao was referring to Veerraju’s speech made in “Praja Agraha Sabha” held in Vijayawada on Tuesday where he stated that one crore people who consumed alcohol in AP should vote for the BJP in 2024 and get cheap liquor for `75. “If the revenues are good, we will give it for only `50,” he said.

To this Rama Rao, asked, “Is it the national policy of the BJP to supply cheap liquor at `50, or is this bumper offer only for states where the desperation is ‘high’?”

While Rama Rao’s tweet went viral on social media platforms, it also attracted criticism from netizens who questioned the TRS government’s policy of encouraging liquor consumption after coming to power in Telangana in 2014.

Netizens trolled Rama Rao to answer first why the TRS government increased liquor shops and bars significantly with its new excise policy in 2021 and why it permitted bars and liquor shops to open till midnight on the eve of New Year 2022.

They reminded Rama Rao that the state government revenue earnings through liquor in Telangana region prior to the formation of state in 2014 was just `10,000 crore but it has now increased three-fold to `30,000 crore under the TRS regime in the last seven years.

“WAH... WHAT a scheme! What a shame. AP BJP stoops to a new low,” (sic) tweeted Rama Rao.