Govt turning blind eye to single-digit lottery: HDK

The banned single-digit lottery is rampant in the State but the government is looking the other way, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, H D Kumara- swamy, alleged on Friday.

Single-digit lottery is played by selecting any number from 0 to 9 and placing a bet of a specified amount. If the draw matches the selected number, the lottery is won.

The State had banned all types of lotteries in 2007, when Kumaraswamy was the chief minister.

Kumaraswamy, speaking to reporters, alleged that no action had been taken on the menace although he had brought the matter to the notice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister K J George.

The lotteries are being sold by individuals and are not available in market. A man named Michael is said to be the kingpin of the racket.

The JD(S) leader said several families had gone bankrupt after taking part in the lottery. “If George cannot stop it, he should resign,” he demanded.

Kumaraswamy also dared the Home minister to prove the allegation he reportedly made that the former had encouraged the police to demand protection money when he was the chief minister.

“Even if a single such incident is established, I will retire from politics,” he said. He also alleged that the government was effecting large-scale transfer of officials.

The JD(S) leader also contended that the government’s decision to discharge KAS officer Asha Parveen was against rules. All documents should have been verified by the jurisdictional deputy commissioner before confirming Parveen’s appointment to government service, he stressed and added that Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) probe into the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment scam was targeting people for a particular community.

According to Kumara- swamy, he had “exposed” several scams in the last five years and was tired now. “We have left it to people like S R Hiremath (of Samaj Parivartan Samudaya) to do the job,” he said.