The opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has accused the ruling coalition government of direct responsibility for a deadly bus fire in Kurnool that claimed 20 lives, labelling the incident a “government-made massacre” stemming from the unchecked proliferation of illegal belt shops and spurious liquor. YSRCP Kurnool district president and former MLA SV Mohan Reddy demanded that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu issue a public apology to the victims’ families, provide Rs 1 crore in compensation to each, and initiate a criminal case against Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra for allegedly permitting the illicit liquor trade. A police investigation, supported by forensic evidence, confirmed that the accident was triggered when an intoxicated motorcyclist, who had consumed fake liquor from a belt shop in Lakshmipuram, collided with the bus, igniting the blaze.

Reddy’s statements, made public on Sunday, emphasised that the tragedy could have been prevented had authorities enforced stricter controls on unauthorised liquor outlets. He argued that the government’s lax oversight of excise policies directly contributed to the biker’s impairment and the subsequent chain of events leading to the fire. The demands for accountability extend beyond financial compensation, calling for systemic reforms to dismantle the network of belt shops—small, unlicensed vendors often operating adjacent to legal liquor stores—that have long been a point of contention in Andhra Pradesh’s liquor regulation debates.

In response, Nandyal MP Byreddy Shabari of the ruling alliance sharply criticised the YSRCP for politicising the tragedy, accusing the party and its affiliated media of behaving like “vultures feeding on tragedy”. Speaking to reporters in Nandyal, Shabari claimed that outlets linked to former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s family were spreading baseless propaganda to regain public sympathy. She linked such tactics to the YSRCP’s electoral downfall, noting its reduction to just 11 Assembly seats in the recent polls, and warned that continued exploitation of the incident could further erode the party’s remaining support.

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The accident has reignited longstanding debates over liquor policy in Andhra Pradesh, where previous administrations, including the YSRCP’s tenure, faced similar criticism for failing to curb illegal sales despite periodic crackdowns. As investigations continue, families of the victims await official responses to the compensation demands, while political rhetoric on both sides underscores the challenge of separating governance failures from opportunistic blame in the wake of preventable disasters.

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