The Karnataka Congress government is under fire after fresh corruption allegations emerged against the state’s Excise Minister RB Timmapur. The Karnataka Wine Merchants Association (KWMA) alleges that the Minister is involved in large-scale corruption of Rs 300-700 billion in return for granting illegal licences. The minister’s office allegedly collected Rs 30-40 lakh for issuing licenses and it was stated that 1000 such licenses were issued in the last one year. According to the Union’s allegation, in addition to the bribes given for the issuance of illegal licenses, the Minister also allegedly collected bribes to provide advantageous transfers to officials.

Protesting against corruption and mismanagement by the excise department, liquor traders across the state have announced plans to close their shops on November 20.

KWMA has now urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also oversees the Finance Department, to assume control of the Excise Department.

KWMA president S Guruswamy and general secretary B Govindaraj Hegde conveyed these concerns to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Timmapur and other senior officials in a letter dated October 30. They allege that the Excise Department issued 1,000 illegal CL7 bar licenses to hotels and hostels across the state and each license was issued for bribes ranging from Rs 30-70 lakh. The letter added that routine fees for CL7 licenses range from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8.5 lakh, depending on the location of the organisation.

“CL7 bar licenses were issued by the Minister with bribery amounting to anywhere between ₹30-70 lakh and in the last one year, 1,000 such illegal licenses were issued by the Excise Minister amounting to ₹300-700 crore corruption. he wrote in the letter.

The letter also alleged that a deputy commissioner accepted an amount between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 40 lakh from every officer seeking a suitable transfer. These amounts are reportedly Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore from deputy commissioners in Bengaluru alone. They allege that despite numerous calls and protests by the association, including a massive demonstration in Bengaluru on October 25, Timmapur and the government remained unresponsive.

Amid these allegations, Minister Timmapur, who is currently campaigning in Shiggaon, denied the accusations, attributing them to political motivations. “These allegations are baseless and politically motivated,” he said. He claimed that while some promotions were processed, transfers were not made for monetary gain.

“When these people do something wrong, officers harass them. Wine merchants should also correct themselves… Although I approved some promotions through appropriate channels, I did not allow any transfers for monetary gain. No transfers were made, but routine promotions were made. The license renewal process is inappropriate “It was conducted without pressure or monetary demands… The association should determine who actually received the payments instead of making such false accusations,” he said.

BJP leader R Ashoka criticized the Congress government, citing that the charges were part of a “pattern of corruption” under the rule. In a social media post, Ashoka wrote: “Karnataka Wine Merchants Association, in its letter to CM Siddaramaiah, has alleged that state Excise Minister RB Timmapur was involved in blatant extortion and bribery, revealing yet another dark chapter in the scam spree by ‘DECEPTION’ ‘Grease Government in Karnataka.’

State BJP President BY Vijayendra said: “Corruption under Siddaramaiah is not just a scandal but a way of life. “In the latest chapter of its 17-month corruption saga, the Karnataka Wine Merchants Association exposes the astonishing extortion racket run by Excise Minister RB Thimmapur.”

“This is not your average pay to play scheme. Thimmapur is claimed to generate an annual revenue of Rs 180 million in “weekly” terms from liquor outlets; yes, he stated that all this was in the name of noble “election purposes”.

“And the best part? There is a whole ‘fee list’ for bribes! “From Rs 30 crore to nearly 1,000 illegal licenses issued from Rs 70 lakh to secure the CL7 bar licence, this operation is practically a corruption franchise, raking in Rs 700 Million annually,” he charged.

This is nothing but a bribery list on an industrial scale, Vijayendra added. Ironically, Siddaramaiah, who had labeled the previous BJP government as “40 per cent Sarkara” based on false allegations, is now silent on this staggering Rs 500 million annual corruption allegation made by the Karnataka Wine Merchants Association against his Minister.

With IANS entries