Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Tamil Nadu government has suspended more than 60 TASMAC employees in a single day, as per sources, over allegations of demanding extra money from customers for liquor bottles, as a heated Assembly debate over the practice saw the ruling side and the Opposition trade accusations of corruption.
The action, initiated across Chennai, Madurai, Salem, Trichy and Coimbatore, comes amid complaints that customers are being asked to pay an additional Rs 10 or Rs 20 per bottle at state-owned TASMAC outlets.
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The issue also triggered a political clash in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, with Prohibition and Excise Minister K Vignesh saying the extra Rs 10 is not a government charge and tracing the practice to the previous DMK regime.
WHY CUSTOMERS ARE BEING CHARGED EXTRA
During the Assembly debate, Vignesh said the practice began with the collection of Rs 2 per bottle when TASMAC shop employees were earning only around Rs 2,000 a month.
According to the minister, the amount gradually increased to Rs 5 and eventually Rs 10, with the money being used towards basic shop expenses such as electricity bills, rent and maintenance.
Vignesh blamed the previous DMK government for failing to adequately fund these expenses or revise the salaries of TASMAC employees.
“The previous DMK regime has not taken any steps to revise salaries of TASMAC employees or even fund regular upkeep of the outlets. It was the TVK government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay which increased the salaries and is taking steps to weed out corruption,” Vignesh told the Assembly.
The government has now moved against employees accused of continuing the practice despite steps to improve their salaries and working conditions.
‘IF IT IS CORRUPTION, WHY CONTINUE IT?’
Former DMK minister K N Nehru challenged the government’s argument during the Assembly debate.
Nehru questioned how the DMK could be blamed for the practice when the minister had himself acknowledged that customers had been charged an additional Rs 10 per bottle over the years.
“You had previously labelled this extra charge as corruption. If the practice is deemed ‘corrupt’ during previous tenures, continuing it now remains equally unjustifiable,” Nehru argued.
Responding to the Opposition, Vignesh referred to the working conditions and pay of TASMAC employees before the present government came to power.
He said employees previously received a gross monthly salary of Rs 14,000, with their take-home pay coming to around Rs 11,000 after deductions.
The minister made it clear that the government was not justifying the additional collection, but was seeking to address the structural problems that had allowed the practice to continue.
GOVERNMENT SAYS CRACKDOWN IS UNDERWAY
Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar also joined the debate, accusing the Opposition of overlooking corruption that the government was attempting to investigate.
He referred to legal documents and court records while raising allegations of tender irregularities, including cases in which people had allegedly manipulated the system to operate multiple retail liquor outlets.
Vignesh admitted that reforming TASMAC was a complicated task because several practices had become entrenched over the past two decades.
He assured the Assembly that the government was working on systemic reforms, including better compensation for staff, official funding for shop operations and changes aimed at bringing Tamil Nadu’s liquor administration in line with modern standards followed in other states.
MINISTER’S ‘BLACK OR WHITE MONEY’ REMARK SPARKS CHAOS
The debate turned particularly heated when Public Works and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna alleged corruption in certain sectors during the previous DMK government.
Arjuna said there were two types of corruption – “one related to mines and sand extraction which can be black or white money, and another involving film industry and TASMAC liquor.”
The remark prompted DMK members to rise in protest.
Arjuna immediately clarified that he had not specifically named anyone.
The confrontation eventually led to a DMK walkout from the Assembly.
DMK SAYS SPEAKER DENIED RESPONSE
Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly later, former ministers K N Nehru and V Senthil Balaji criticised the remarks made during the discussion on the demands for grants for the Prohibition and Excise Department.
They said DMK members had sought permission from the Speaker to respond to and clarify the allegations levelled against the party, but were denied permission.
The Opposition then walked out of the Assembly in protest, they said.
The controversy comes as the Tamil Nadu government steps up action against TASMAC staff accused of collecting money over and above the price printed for liquor bottles, while also promising broader reforms to eliminate unofficial charges from the state-run retail network.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
