Indian Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan has reiterated that the DMK government had never considered reviving lottery sales in Tamil Nadu and Chennai, according to The New Indian Express.
It comes after AIADMK leader, Edappadi K Palaniswami, warned the government not to revive lottery sales in the state due to problem gambling in the past.
The government prohibited the sale of lottery tickets in the state back in 2003, which also encompassed online sales.
However, lottery sales were permitted to private players, resulting in over 50 lottery games appearing across Chennai.
Fearing that the government would reintroduce lottery sales in the state, the opposition leader decided to make a plea to the Finance Minister.
Palaniswami told The New Indian Express : “If the sale of lottery tickets is revived, the Government will face massive protests from people. It should look for other appropriate means to increase its revenue.
“The lottery business was introduced decades ago for a noble cause, but former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi allowed private players into the trade, and this defeated the purpose of beginning the sales in the first place.”
Yet, in a turn of events, the Finance Minister, Thiagarajan, claims his government has never contemplated reviving lottery sales, saying it is a ‘false claim’.
He told The New Indian Express: “Palaniswami has issued a false claim that the DMK government is mulling to revive lottery sales.
“This same leader had kept the CAG report on the 2015 Chennai floods and the CAG’s audit report on the 2017-18 and 2018-19 State finances, hidden from the legislature. His regime’s administrative failures had come to the fore later.
“Though the previous government had left the State in a shattered financial situation, our government would never resume lottery business to augment the State’s revenue.”
