Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell chief and party's central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, on Sunday levelled serious allegations against the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government over an alleged liquor excise scam, claiming that money extorted from bottlers was funnelled directly to the party and its General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The allegations follow a confidential Excise Department report that has reportedly been placed before West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal.

What BJP Has Alleged

Citing a media report, Malviya claimed that the West Bengal Excise Department had deliberately altered its policy under the previous TMC administration to enable systematic extortion of bottlers on every crate of liquor and beer sold in the state. In a post on social media platform X, Malviya said, “After the Delhi Liquor Excise scam, it is now Bengal’s turn. The Excise Department altered policy and bottlers were extorted on every crate of liquor and beer. The proceeds, amounting to thousands of crores, found their way to the Trinamool Congress and Abhishek Banerjee.”

Malviya alleged that the extorted funds, reportedly running into thousands of crores of rupees, were routed to TMC and Banerjee personally — allegations that TMC has not yet formally responded to.

The 2017 Policy Change at the Centre of the Controversy

According to the media report cited by Malviya, West Bengal's liquor distribution policy was overhauled in 2017, allegedly at the direction of the then-TMC government. The revised framework allowed the state to monopolise liquor distribution, effectively squeezing out private wholesalers and replacing them with state-appointed distributors.

The confidential Excise Department report, as cited in the media account, states that the entire distributor system was ostensibly introduced in the name of preventing cartelisation, ensuring transparency, and promoting equitable access to liquor across the state. Critics argue, however, that these stated objectives were used as cover to redirect revenue away from the government exchequer.

How the Alleged Extortion Worked

According to the report, distributors were required to remit a portion of their profits — money that should have entered government coffers — to TMC. Specifically, a charge of ₹4 per crate was levied as godown rental and ₹3 per crate as transport cost. Bottlers and foreign liquor manufacturers were reportedly compelled to absorb these charges.

The report alleges that this ‘tribute,’ collected crate by crate across the state’s liquor supply chain, ultimately made its way to Abhishek Banerjee. These are allegations drawn from the cited report and have not been independently verified.

Where the Matter Stands

The confidential Excise Department report has reportedly been tabled with Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has also been briefed on its contents. No formal investigation or FIR has been publicly announced as of the time of reporting.

This comes amid a broader national scrutiny of state-level liquor excise policies following the high-profile Delhi Liquor Excise case, making the Bengal allegations politically significant beyond the state's borders. How the state government and investigative agencies respond to the Excise Department report will be closely watched in the days ahead.