YSRCP Refutes Liquor Policy-Disease Link, Blames Chandrababu Naidu Govt For Misusing Health Data

Former Andhra Pradesh health minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader V. Rajini on Monday refuted allegations that the party’s liquor policy during its 2019–2024 tenure contributed to a surge in liver and kidney diseases. She dismissed the claims as politically driven misinformation aimed at discrediting former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s administration.

Rajini’s remarks come in the wake of a report by a three-member expert panel, constituted by the current Chandrababu Naidu-led government, which cited a 100 per cent rise in alcohol-related liver disease cases during the YSRCP regime, based on data from the state’s flagship Arogyasri health scheme.

Terming the findings misleading, Rajini accused the ruling NDA coalition of manipulating health data for political mileage. “The coalition is twisting facts and misusing data to spread deliberate lies,” she said in a statement. “Our government worked to regulate alcohol use, promote safer practices, and strengthen public health, unlike the previous TDP regime, which allowed unchecked liquor proliferation.”

Former Health Minister Vidadala Rajini condemned the coalition’s false propaganda against YSRCP’s liquor policy, calling it a desperate attempt to divert attention from their failures. She said linking health issues to YSRCP’s liquor policy is baseless and aimed at tarnishing the…
— YSR Congress Party (@YSRCParty)

Rajini claimed that during the YSRCP’s governance, liquor sales actually declined — from four crore to three crore cases between 2018–19 and 2023–24 — and beer sales dropped significantly from three crore to one crore cases. She also asserted that no deaths due to illicit liquor were recorded during their rule, with quality certification from a Chennai-based lab and approval from the Competition Commission of India.

The former health minister further alleged that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had introduced over 200 new liquor brands, flooding the market with lesser-known options, while the YSRCP government maintained the existing brands.

She said the YSRCP took concrete steps to curb alcohol consumption by regulating store hours, controlling the number of retail outlets, and shutting down over 43,000 alleged illegal belt shops. Rajini emphasized that rising health issues were more closely linked to broader lifestyle changes than to liquor policy alone.

Highlighting healthcare achievements under the YSRCP government, she said the number of diseases covered under the Arogyasri scheme rose from 1,059 to 3,254. The ambulance fleet also expanded significantly, with 108 and 104 services increasing from 622 to 2,204 vehicles, vastly improving emergency medical access.

Rajini concluded by pointing to recruitment drives that brought in over 53,000 healthcare workers to fill staff shortages in government hospitals. She noted that Andhra Pradesh under YSRCP reduced the national average shortage of specialist doctors from 61% to 4%, and brought nurse and lab technician shortages to zero.

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