24-05-2025
Liquor scams in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh interlinked, claims BJP leader Raghubar Das
'The volume of the scam is not Rs 100 crore as reported, but is suspected to be over Rs 600–700 crore,' he claimed.
He alleged that the scam in Jharkhand was much bigger than previously reported.
Jamshedpur, May 24 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Raghubar Das on Saturday urged the CBI, which is probing the Chhattisgarh liquor scam, to investigate a similar scam in Jharkhand, claiming that both are connected.
'The Chhattisgarh government has already recommended a CBI probe into the liquor scam there. I appeal to the agency to investigate a similar scam in Jharkhand, as both scams are interlinked,' the former chief minister told a press conference.
Das also demanded a CBI investigation into the funding of 32 MLAs who were sent to Chhattisgarh and accommodated in a luxurious hotel from August 22 to August 31, 2022.
'The people of the state want to know whether the payment for their travel and stay was made by the then Chhattisgarh government or by the liquor mafia,' he added.
Referring to the excise policy introduced during his tenure in 2018, Das, who also served as Odisha Governor, said the current Hemant Soren-led government had acknowledged in a recent state cabinet meeting—while approving the Excise Rules 2025—that the policy brought in by his government was in the interest of the state and its people.
'The present Soren-led dispensation has admitted that the excise policy implemented in 2018 by our government was the best. The focus of the new Excise Policy 2025 is based on our earlier policy,' he added.
Elaborating further, Das said the revenue generated through his government's liquor policy was Rs 1,082 crore in 2018–19 and had doubled to Rs 2,009 crore in 2019–20.
'In addition, our government had restricted the opening of liquor shops in Scheduled Areas of the state. In contrast, the new Excise Policy 2025 approves the opening of more liquor shops in these areas. This move is pushing the younger generation toward intoxication,' he alleged.
Taking a swipe at the ruling party, Das remarked, 'JMM supremo Shibu Soren, father of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, used to campaign against liquor. Now his son is promoting it. This is deeply regrettable.' Das slammed the decision to open liquor shops in Scheduled Areas, saying that after the cabinet's approval, the matter was brought up for discussion in a Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) meeting held in Ranchi.
'Is the state cabinet bigger or the TAC?' Das questioned, suggesting that the CM was forced to bring the matter to the TAC after growing tribal opposition.
On senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey's arrest by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam in Jharkhand, Das claimed the action was an attempt by the Soren government to protect itself.
'Soren knows well that the ACB's jurisdiction is confined within the state. Since the liquor scams in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are interconnected, the matter requires a CBI probe,' he asserted. PTI BS MNB
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