Jayalalithaa aide V K Sasikala benefited from Tasmac liquor contracts: AAP

CHENNAI: Jayalalithaa's close aide V K Sasikala is a major beneficiary of liquor contracts from the state government, the Aam Aadmi Party has alleged, making disclosures of what it called was "crony capitalism" involving the state-run booze monopoly Tasmac.

AAP's Prashant Bhushan, a supreme court lawyer, also said that the family of S Jagathrakshakan, a DMK politician who represents Arakkonam in the Lok Sabha, benefitted from Tasmac deals when his party was in power in Tamil Nadu for five years up to 2011.

AAP has announced candidates for eight out of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu so far.

"Tasmac does not have a transparent procedure for issuing orders and indents to Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) manufacturers. This has been purposefully done so as to benefit companies of party men," Bhushan said in Chennai on Tuesday.

He cited Midas Golden Distilleries as example of crony capitalism, whose turnover just before the AIADMK came to power in 2011 was Rs 360 crore. In 2012-13, its sales increased to Rs 1,077 crore.

Midas is owned 48% by Hot Wheels Engineering, which in turn is owned 41% by Sasikala, 10% by J Illavarasi (her sister-in-law) and 49% by Sri Jaya Finance and Investments.

AAP, which has made the anti-corruption fight its main platform, said that likewise the family of DMK's Jagathrakshakan could be linked to Tasmac contracts. The revenue of Elite Distilleries, Bhushan said, increased from nothing in 2007-08 to Rs 712 crore in 2011-12. It decreased to Rs 466 crore in 2012-13 after AIADMK came to power. The DMK was in power from 2006.

Elite is partly owned by J Hotels, which in turn is mostly owned by J Sandeep Anand, the son of Jagathrakshakan. The MP himself owned 50% of J Hotels until 2008.

Spokesmen for the DMK and AIADMK did not answer phone calls or text messages seeking their comments.

"Both AIADMK and DMK are different sides of the same coin. These parties have repeatedly used their power to favour themselves and their close network," an AAP statement said.