Excise Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana has refused to resign from his post following allegations that he received bribes from the liquor syndicate.
Talking to reporters at the state Secretariat after meeting Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, the minister denied the allegations against him, and said that the inclusion of his name in the Anti-Corruption Bureau's report was part of a "larger conspiracy".
It may be mentioned here that in the remand report of a liquor dealer Nunna Venkata Ramana, the accused had alleged that he had personally paid the Excise Minister a bribe of Rs. 10 lakh.
However, Mopidevi has denied receiving a bribe, and says he will not resign based on the allegations of a person with a criminal background. Claiming that there was no truth in the allegations, he said that he was ready for any kind of probe.
Mopidevi criticised the ACB officials for including his name based on the confessional statement of an accused.
"Will they also include the names of thwe President of India or the Chief Minister, if some accused names them in a scam?" he questioned.
The Excise Minister said that the ACB should have questioned him before including his name. However, he said he was ready to face any action if proved guilty. (INN)