Thursday, Feb 10, 2005
Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 |
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Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Kerala
By Our Kerala Bureau
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 9. The Opposition Left Democratic Front has welcomed the Cabinet decision to withdraw the ban on lotteries, but demanded immediate enactment of legislation to ban online lotteries. Welcoming the Cabinet decision, the Leader of the Opposition, V.S. Achuthanandan, pointed out that there is no need to delay enactment of legislation to ban online lotteries as the Opposition is fully in agreement with the Government on the issue. "If the Government wants, it can bring forward a bill tomorrow and get it passed in half-an-hour. Why should they delay it till March," he asked. The CPI State assistant secretary, Panniyan Ravindran, described the Cabinet decision a major victory for the people and a sharp rebuff to what he termed the Government's attempt to grant legitimacy to online lotteries through devious means. The Government should immediately put a law in place to ban eradicate online lotteries from Kerala for ever, he said. The RSP State secretary, T.J. Chandrachoodan, said the Cabinet decision is yet another instance of the UDF Government being forced to bow before public ire and correct an imprudent decision. "This is nothing short of a rebuff to the authoritarian ways of the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister," Prof. Chandrachoodan said.
Agents welcome it
Lottery agents welcomed the decision to lift the ban. "The decision has come as a big relief to the lakhs of agents, especially the physically and visually challenged," said Mohammed Rafi, a Thiruvananthapuram-based dealer. The Government should take steps to provide lottery tickets to the agents at the earliest since many are finding it difficult to make both ends meet, he added. (Official sources said that though the Government has lifted the ban, a minimum of two weeks are needed for the Directorate of Lotteries to issue fresh lottery tickets. "Even if the print order for new tickets is given on Thursday, it will take a minimum of two weeks to complete the formalities and to provide tickets to the agents," according to an official.) P. Jayakumar, a lottery agent for the last 37 years, said: "We have been struggling to survive in the past few weeks. Now with the ban withdrawn our prayers have been answered." K.A. Pushpakaran, president, Ernakulam District Lottery Agents and Sellers' Union (CITU), has said the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, had only said that the Kerala State Lotteries would be reinstated. The Chief Minister has not yet made it clear as to how and when the reinstatement will be implemented. Mr. Pushpakaran said that if the Government did not clarify on the proceedings to restore it, the Union would continue with its present plans of agitation. A district-level convention of agents and sellers to be held in Ernakulam on Sunday will decide the future course of agitation.
`Rein in bad elements'
A. Sujanapal, MLA, termed the decision a welcome step. ``Lottery is the only source of income for thousands of persons. The Government should try to rein in bad elements in the sector. It should take steps against fake lotteries. Also, the Government's decision to include online lotteries among gambling activities is a welcome step,'' he said in Kozhikode. M. Bhaskaran, Kozhikode Corporation's education and health standing committee chairman and CPI(M) leader, said the Oommen Chandy Government' decision to ban lotteries and then revoke it was just to score political points. The BJP Thiruvananthapuram district committee welcomed the decision. "We are happy about the decision though belated," said the district secretary of the party, C. Sivankutty. The party was planning an agitation to press for withdrawal of the ban, he added.
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