The Karnataka Congress government is under fire as fresh corruption allegations have emerged against the state’s Excise Minister RB Timmapur. The Karnataka Wine Merchants’ Association (KWMA) allege that the Minister is involved in large-scale corruption to the tune of Rs 300-700 crore in exchange for issuing illegal licences. The Minister’s office allegedly collects Rs 30-40 lakh for issuing a licence, and 1000 such licences were given in the last one year, they said. Besides bribes for issuing illegal licences, the Minister also allegedly collected bribes to give favourable transfers to the officials, the Association claims.  

Protesting the corruption and mismanagement by the excise department, liquor traders statewide have announced plans to close their stores on November 20.

The KWMA has now called for the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also oversees the Finance Department, to assume control over the Excise Department. 

In a letter dated October 30, KWMA president S Guruswamy and general secretary B Govindaraj Hegde reported these concerns to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Timmapur, and other senior officials. They allege that the Excise Department granted 1,000 illegal CL7 bar licences to hotels and boarding houses across the state, with each licence issued for bribes ranging from Rs 30-70 lakh. The letter added that routine fees for CL7 licences range from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8.5 lakh based on the establishment’s location.

“CL7 bar licences were given at a bribe amount of anywhere between ₹30-70 lakh by the Minister, and in the last one year, 1,000 such illegal licences were given by the excise Minister, amounting to ₹300-700 crore in corruption,” the letter said. 

The letter further claimed that one deputy commissioner accepted between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 40 lakh from each officer seeking a favourable transfer. These amounts reportedly sum to Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore from deputy commissioners in Bengaluru alone. Despite multiple appeals and protests by the association, including a large demonstration on October 25 in Bengaluru, they assert that Timmapur and the government have been unresponsive.

Amid these allegations, Minister Timmapur, currently campaigning in Shiggaon, has refuted 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 conducted for monetary gain.

"When these people do something wrong, then officers harass them. The wine merchants should correct themselves…While I have approved some promotions through proper channels, I did not authorise any transfers for monetary gain. Transfers were not executed, but routine promotions were processed appropriately. The licence renewal process was conducted without undue pressure or monetary demands... Instead of making such unfounded accusations, the association should identify who actually received the payments," he said. 

BJP leader R Ashoka criticised the Congress government, referring to the accusations as part of a “pattern of corruption” under the administration. In a social media post, Ashoka wrote, “The Karnataka Wine Merchants’ Association in its letter to CM Siddaramaiah has alleged that state excise Minister RB Timmapur is involved in blatant extortion and bribery, unfolding another dark episode of the series of scams by ‘SCAM’gress Govt in Karnataka.”

State BJP President BY Vijayendra stated, “Under Siddaramaiah, corruption isn’t just a scandal—it’s a lifestyle. In the latest chapter of his 17-month epic of graft, the Karnataka Wine Merchants Association exposes the staggering extortion racket run by Excise Minister RB Thimmapur.”

“This isn’t your average pay-to-play scheme. Thimmapur is allegedly raking in Rs 180 crore a year in “hafta” from liquor outlets—yes, all in the noble name of “election purposes,” he stated.

“And the best part? There’s a full-on ‘rate card’ for bribes! From Rs 30- Rs 70 lakh to secure a CL7 bar licence to nearly 1,000 illegal licences issued, this operation is practically a franchise in corruption, amassing Rs 700 crore annually,” he charged.

Vijayendra added that this is nothing short of an industrial-scale bribe list. Ironically, Siddaramaiah, who labelled the previous BJP government as a “40 per cent Sarkara” based on unfounded allegations, is now silent on this staggering Rs 500 crore per year corruption claim against his Minister made by the Karnataka Wine Merchants Association.

With IANS inputs