FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | Monday, 08 June 2026 Abhishek Banerjee linked to Bengal liquor scam MANAS R BANNERJEE, SIDDHARTHA RAI, NITISH KAPOOR Kolkata/New Delhi, 7 June A fter Delhi, West Bengal has thrown up its own iteration of a liquor scam. The state’s liquor policy was altered in 2017, allegedly at the behest of All India Trinamul Congress (AITC) super-boss and then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, enabling the state to monopolise liquor distribution. The new policy was designed to twist the arms of erstwhile private wholesalers into paying levies to the tune of thousands of crores. According to a confidential report drawn up by the excise department, which The Statesman has seen, all this carving up of state revenue 23 parties to attend INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi: Ramesh STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 7 June Suvendu calls 2026 mandate Bengal’s ‘second independence’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 7 June Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday described the BJP’s victory in the 2026 Assembly elections as Bengal’s “second independence”, alleging that the people had freed the state from what he called years of misrule and corruption under the Trinamul Congress. Addressing a blood donation camp in Dum Dum, Adhikari launched a sharp attack on the previous regime and said the people of Bengal had removed a “queen of robbers” from power. “The people got the taste of a second independence in 2026. You have driven away the robbers of Trinamul and removed the queen from her throne. I do not have enough words to thank you,” he said. Claiming that the rule of law had been restored in the state, Mr Adhikari said the doors to fresh investment had already opened. He referred to the foundation-laying ceremony for an Amul plant in Howrah’s Sankrail scheduled for 13 June and said substantial investments were expected in the coming months. “The groundwork for industrial growth has begun. The Shipping Ministry will develop two more deep-sea ports in Kulpi in South 24-Parganas. It has been only 28 days. Wait for 100 days and we will have much more to show,” he said. “This state has to be rebuilt. It has fallen behind after 34 years of Left rule and 15 years of Trinamul governance,” the chief minister said. Mr Adhikari also alleged that corruption had permeated every level of administration. “Wherever we are putting our hands, we are finding corruption. It now seems that the Brigade Parade Ground may have to be converted into a jail,” he remarked. The CM said that several welfare schemes under the previous government had been plagued by irregularities. He alleged that nearly 3 lakh men had received benefits under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, which was intended for women. According to him, around 4,500 male beneficiaries were identified in Jangipur block of Murshidabad district alone. Men had received widow pension benefits during the previous regime, he added. Action was being taken against those involved in corruption and financial irregularities, Mr Adhikari said. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that 23 political parties have confirmed their participation in a meeting of the INDIA bloc, also referred to as INDIA Janbandhan, scheduled to be held at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Monday. In a post on social media platform X, Mr Ramesh announced that the meeting would take place at 12 noon on 8 June and would bring together a broad spectrum of Opposition parties to discuss issues relating to democracy, governance, electoral processes and the political situation in the country. Mr Ramesh noted that while some parties would not be attending the meeting, they had nevertheless conveyed their opposition to the policies and actions of the BJP-led central government. “There are some parties who have expressed their inability to attend this particular meeting for their own reasons ~ even though they have conveyed their strong opposition to the Modi Government’s policies and actions,” he said. Mr Ramesh accused the Centre of undermining democratic institutions and constitutional values, alleging that the government was curtailing voting rights, targeting Opposition leaders through investigative agencies and weakening democratic processes. Nepal not seeking third-party mediation: Khanal STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 7 June Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal has clarified that Kathmandu is not seeking third-party mediation in its border dispute with India. Addressing a Press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, the visiting Mr Khanal said Kathmandu remains committed to resolving the dispute through existing bilateral mechanisms with India and is not seeking external mediation. “We want to solve our disputes through diplomatic processes. We just want to see if we can access some of the documents that might be in libraries or museums in the UK Our position was not that we were asking for mediation,” Mr Khanal said. His remarks come days after Prime Minister Balendra Shah told Nepal’s Parliament that Kathmandu was in contact with both the United Kingdom and China regarding the disputed Kalapani Lipulekh Limpiyadhura tri-junction area. Responding to that statement, New Delhi had made clear that there was no scope for third-party intervention in the dispute. • Detailed report: Page 5 was carried out in the name of “averting cartelisation, transparency, equitable access of liquor to all parts of the state and promotion of consumer choice.” The Statesman has also learned that the report has already been tabled with West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari too has been briefed on the matter. Amit Malviya, co-in-charge of BJP West Bengal, told The Statesman “those who looted West Bengal” would have to “answer for their actions”. “The details emerging from the West Bengal liquor scam point to a deeply entrenched culture of corruption under the Trinamul Congress. The allegations suggest a syndicate that operated with political patronage, with Abhishek Banerjee at its centre and all of it unfolding under Mamata Banerjee’s watch,” Mr Malviya said. “The IFB complaint was not a private grievance, it was a matter reported to the stock exchange and placed in the public domain. The truth can no longer be buried. Those who looted the people of West Bengal and extorted businesses must be held accountable. The law will take its course, and every person involved, regardless of position or influence, will have to answer for their actions,” he said. The confidential report alluded to here charts out the modus operandi of the entire operation. In 2017, a special body ~ West Bengal State Beverages Corporation Ltd. (WBSBCL) ~ was created to replace private wholesalers, also called ‘Trades’, who owned the distributorship of foreign liquor and beer. These ‘Trades’ used to hold licenses under the Bengal Excise Act, 1909. According to the report, through WBSBCL the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government took up the liquor business. Earlier, the liquor business in West Bengal was driven by 55 ‘Trades’ operating independently and competitively. The manufacturers, under this system, could choose their trading partners ~ one of the 55 licenced Trades - depending on their business strengths (or weaknesses thereof), while retailers too had the freedom to opt from multiple supply points. In all, the system prior to 2017 was one of “fair trade practices, healthy competition and timely supply of liquor at the ultimate consumption points, i.e. retail licensed outlets.” Things changed with the advent of WBSBCL. The new system introduced a new set of distributors who extorted the bottlers. This system was allegedly put in place under the stewardship of then Excise Commissioner Uma Shankar S, allegedly operating at the behest of now embattled TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee. The system, the report documents, was run by a close nexus of several senior officers at the Excise Directorate. “… the concept of decentralised business, fair trade practices, healthy competition and multisupply points gave way to a Monopolistic Business Model,” the report observes. The report alleges malfeasance, going so far so to state that the “whole policy of introduction of such Distributors was designed in order to siphon out money for the AITC in the name of garnering revenue for the Government Exchequer.” Allegedly, the distributors • Turn to Page 2