Opposition accuses Himachal govt of liquor scam, walks out of assembly

Shimla, August 29: The Himachal Pradesh assembly witnessed a heated exchange during the monsoon session today with opposition members accusing the government of a scam linked to the new excise policy. The row started during Question Hour when opposition MLA Randhir Sharma raised concerns over the allotment of liquor contracts and alleged that the government has favoured its allies, leading to huge financial losses.

Randhir Sharma accused the government of allocating liquor contracts to its own people, leading to a huge scam. He claimed that the state has suffered a loss of over Rs 100 crore during the auction of these contracts. Sharma particularly pointed out irregularities in Kangra and Chamba, where liquor contracts were allegedly auctioned at less than the reserve price, leading to further financial losses. He criticized the government for presenting misleading figures and accused it of allowing arbitrary pricing to favoured contractors.

Responding to the allegations, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the real scam took place during the tenure of the previous government, which failed to hold proper bidding for liquor contracts in four years, leading to huge revenue losses. However, the opposition members did not take kindly to this defence. The opposition, led by BJP MLAs and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur, walked out of the House over the lack of accountability and raised slogans against the government.