Excise Minister Hits Back: ‘Secretary’s Retirement Was Personal, Not My Doing

HYDERABAD: Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Thursday strongly condemned reports suggesting that he was the reason behind Principal Secretary (Commercial Taxes and Excise) Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi opting for voluntary retirement. He alleged that Rizvi chose voluntary retirement after receiving an offer from a Hyderabad-based superspeciality hospital with a salary of Rs 10 lakh per month.

Addressing a press conference at the state Secretariat after a lengthy Cabinet meeting, Krishna Rao stated that he would initiate defamation proceedings against BRS working president KT Rama Rao and others.

Notably, the minister admitted that he had written to the chief secretary requesting action against Rizvi for allegedly not fulfilling his duties. He emphasised that Rizvi opted for voluntary retirement solely for personal reasons. According to him, Rizvi had received two offers from Delhi and one from Hyderabad.

Explaining what went wrong, Krishna Rao said that the chief minister is the executive head of the state, and ministers head the departments concerned as per the Constitution of India, and that secretaries must abide by the orders issued.

He stated that the tender for adhesive labels on liquor bottles had been awarded to a company on August 21, 2013, and was valid until 2019. Even after the agreement expired, it was extended year by year for five years, he added.
“After I took charge as minister, I ordered fresh tenders by studying the best technologies available globally, constituting a committee headed by Rizvi. I sent multiple reminders on August 13, 2024; September 24, 2024; September 27, 2024; October 17, 2024; and December 9, 2024. When Rizvi showed reluctance to chair the committee, I insisted that he head it,” he said.

Stating that Rizvi had delayed the renewal of a distillery lease, Krishna Rao said that the delay cost the state exchequer Rs 23 crore per month, amounting to Rs 230 crore over the past ten months. He said that he had written to the chief secretary against Rizvi for causing loss to the state exchequer. He also noted that he wrote another letter on October 11, 2025, asking that Rizvi’s voluntary retirement not be accepted.

“How on earth is it wrong to ask someone to perform their legitimate duties and question them when they fail to do so?” Krishna Rao asked.

The minister denied BRS allegations of a scam, saying it was illogical to call it a Rs 500 crore scam when tenders had not even been invited and the proposed tenders were worth only Rs 40 crore a year.

Surekha apologises to chief minister for daughter’s outburst

Hyderabad: Endowments Minister Konda Surekha on Thursday tendered a public apology to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for the remarks made by her daughter Sushmita. Surekha stated that her daughter had been “carried away” by the situation, which she attributed to the “unnecessary presence of police personnel” at her residence. “I apologise for her (Sushmita’s) statements,” the minister told the media.