The Hindu : Kerala News : Pressure mounting on Government

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 31, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Pressure mounting on Government

By Roy Mathew

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 30. Pressure is mounting on the Government to review the ban on State Lotteries.

The decision to ban all paper and online lotteries was an overnight decision taken by the Government following the Supreme Court directive to the State Government to purge itself of contempt of court.

The decision was taken without any discussion at the liaison committee of the United Democratic Front, which normally needs to clear such policy decisions.

Now, various Congress leaders including the convener of the liaison committee, P.P. Thankachan, have called for a review of the decision.

The critics include the senior Congress leader, K. Karunakaran, and his son, K. Muraleedharan.

The Kerala Congress groups led by T.M. Jacob and R. Balakrishna Pillai, have also spoken out against the ban.

The Opposition too will put pressure on the Government to withdraw the ban as it affected the livelihood of thousands of people. The agents and sellers have already launched agitations.

Online lotteries

What is perhaps significant is that Mr. Thankachan has actually said that the question of allowing online lotteries should also be examined.

He put in a rider that this should be done if the State could not go in for a legislation of its own. At the same, he also said that online lotteries should be subjected to strict regulation if they are to be allowed to operate.

How the need for regulation and the State's lack of legislative power could be resolved is an open question.

The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, has emphasised that online lotteries could not be allowed in the State in any case as they caused social problems.

Ploy alleged

Sceptics say that the whole exercise, including the ban and the campaign against it, is part of a plan designed to favour private lottery operators. Citing pressures to withdraw the ban on the State Lotteries, the Government can now open up the arena to private operators. The Government had desisted from arguing its case properly before the courts to aid the private operators, they say.

The Government is yet to make any arrangements to enforce the ban though some lotteries are operating on the sly. The Lotteries Department, which could have aided enforcement, stood dissolved. The police are not acting.

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