Lottery row: Pinarayi comes to Isaac's rescue

KANNUR: CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has come out in the open to the rescue of Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, who has virtually been cornered by groups in his own party, the public and the opposition, in the raging lottery controversy in the state.

Pinarayi made the first attempt to bail out Isaac from the other-state lottery scandal while addressing a pro-CPM workers union meet here on Sunday, stating that the campaign launched by the media and the opposition parties that Isaac was being isolated by his party on the lottery issue had no basis. He said there was no difference of opinion in his party, the LDF or the government on the lottery issue.

Regarding the views expressed by various leaders and ministers on the lotteries ordinance, he said  it was natural that everyone would express their views on the ordinance while the draft was being ciruculated. Disputing the claim that the state government could take action against the other-state lotteries under Section 4 of the Central Lotteries Act, he said  this section wasn’t a new section added to the act. Only the Centre could take action against lotteries under this Act, he said.