Bengaluru, Feb 3 : The Bharatiya Janata Party's Karnataka unit on Tuesday alleged bribery, transfer racket and rampant corruption in the Excise Department and demanded the resignation of Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur.

Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Opposition Leader R. Ashoka stated, "In the Excise Department, bribes are being taken for granting licenses and for facilitating transfers. Related audio recordings have been released, and complaints have been filed with the Lokayukta. Therefore, Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur should resign immediately."

Ashoka alleged the state Excise Department is leading in corruption.

Congress leaders, who are opposing the VB-G Ram G scheme, are talking about Mahatma Gandhi's ideals. However, the Congress is not following Gandhi's ideals.

Ashoka stated, "In a WhatsApp message from government officials, it has been officially instructed that since the CM and Deputy CM are participating in a Housing Department programme in Hubballi, more people will come, so liquor shops should stock sufficient quantities of liquor and sell it. This ruins homes. CM Siddaramaiah talks about lessons in sensitivity. Telling people to drink liquor is their idea of sensitivity."

"The minister is silent because monthly fees come from officials in the scam happening in the Excise Department. The president of the liquor sellers' association, Guruswamy, has issued a press statement, saying he will complain to Rahul Gandhi about the irregularities," he stated.

"Guruswamy has stated that permission has been given to 2,000 liquor shops, and bribes of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore have been taken. If bribes are not given by the 10th of every month, shop owners are harassed. Guruswamy is from CM Siddaramaiah's Varuna constituency itself. Even though Guruswamy has complained, Siddaramaiah has not helped. He has said that Siddaramaiah is no longer a strong CM," he criticised.

Ashoka further charged, "An audio related to the Excise Department scam has come out. In it, allegations have been made against Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur and his son. Yet, the minister says it's not him. In total, there are 14,229 outlets supplying liquor. However, there are not this many primary health centres in the state. Bribes of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 are collected from each shop every month. That means, on average, Rs 21 crore per month and Rs 252 crore per year," Ashoka alleged.

"Money is fixed for transfers in the Excise Department. For transferring Deputy Commissioners, Rs 2.5 to Rs 3.5 crore, for Superintendents Rs 25-Rs 30 lakh, for Deputy Superintendents Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakh, for Excise Inspectors Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh, and for constables Rs 5 to Rs 8 lakh have to be paid. Among these, the constables themselves run four to five bars," he claimed.

"When Nagesh was a minister in the BJP government, allegations of transfer bribes came against him. Later, he resigned. When allegations came against K.S. Eshwarappa, resignation was taken. However, even as so much bribery has been exposed, Minister Thimmapur has not resigned," he said.

/IANS