Bengaluru: The suggestion by State Planning Commission deputy chairman C M Ibrahim to reintroduce lottery in the State has not gone down well with many a ruling party and Opposition leader.

Banned during the JD(S)-Congress coalition in 2004, lottery had been construed as a bane of the lower middle and lower classes of society.

JD(S) floor leader H D Kumaraswamy said it was an extremely bad suggestion. “I urge the chief minister to not consider such suggestions. We had banned lottery out of concern for the poor who were wasting their hard-earned money on buying the tickets and becoming paupers.

The previous Congress government had started lottery to fund the midday meal scheme. This time it is said to be for a health scheme. Such suggestions are absurd,” he said.

Congress State president G Parameshwara, too, opposed the proposal. He said lottery had been banned because men in many poor families mindlessly spent money on buying lottery tickets, putting their dependents to financial hardship.

“If there was such a strong reason to ban lottery, then we should not be reintroducing it. There is absolutely no need to raise funds for health schemes by selling lottery tickets,” he said.

Sources in the Congress said at the legislature party meeting held on Wednesday that a section of the legislators had opposed the recommendation of the Planning Board. However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah did not react to the issue.

Opposition leader Jagadish Shettar said there were vested interests, including a lobby, which were aiming at getting lottery reintroduced in the State. “There are many other sources to get funds for the health scheme, if the government collects taxes properly,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council K S Eshwarappa likened the move to “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. “While the proposal to start a healthcare scheme for poor and middle-class families is welcome, it should not be done through lottery,” he said.

BJP MLC D S Veeraiah said lottery was a form of gambling and a social evil, while his colleague G Madhusoodhan said the proposal should be rejected outright. “The proposal has come from State Planning Board vice chairman C M Ibrahim. Only he can make such recommendations,” Madhusoodhan said.

(Agencies)

Bengaluru: State Planning Board Deputy Chairman C M Ibrahim said on Tuesday he had recommended reintroduction of lottery in Karnataka to fund a proposed healthcare scheme for poor and middle-class families.

Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, Ibrahim said he has asked Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL) to submit a detailed report in this regard. The JD(S)-BJP coalition government had banned all forms of lottery in 2008.

According to Ibrahim, starting a weekly draw lottery with each ticket costing 500-600 crore a year but also provide jobs to more than 2,000 people.

“The money mobilised could be used for providing long-term treatment, say up to five years, for the poor and the needy,” he said.

When asked whether restarting the lottery would encourage the growth of single digit lottery system and gambling, Ibrahim shot back, “Do you think matka and gambling dens are not active in the state?”

In case the government is not able to start the lottery, it will have to raise around `300 crore from various corporate houses under the corporate social responsibility scheme.

He claimed that the chief minister has agreed to fund the first phase of Anna canteens in Bengaluru. In the subsequent phases, it could be extended to other parts of the state, he said. “The chief minister can even announce it in his budget,” he said.

Seven years after the government completely banned lottery in Karnataka, the board headed by chief minister Siddaramaiah has proposed re-introduction of lottery in the state.

The board has asked the state government to introduce Rs 10 denomination lottery and entrust its issuance to Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL), a government of Karnataka undertaking.

(Agencies)