PMO suppressed letter seeking CBI probe on lottery case:Ker CM

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 26 (PTI) Hitting back at Congress-led UDF for targeting him and his son on the lottery issue,Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan today accused the PMO ofhaving suppressed his letter seeking a CBI probe into "gross"irregularities in the operation of outside state lotteries.

"The letter written to the Prime Minister''s Office hasbeen lying suppressed in PMO for the last 67 days,"Achuthanandan told reporters here.

He said the allegation that his son V A Arun Kumar hadintervened in sabotaging the CBI probe into the lottery issuecould also be brought under the ambit of such a probe.

On UDF''s charge that Arun Kumar had received money fromsandalwood unit owners in 2003, he said if Opposition leaderOommen Chandy gave this in writing he was ready to order aprobe by any agency or official of Chandy''s choice.

Achuthanandan said his letter to the Prime Ministerseeking a CBI probe was written more than two months back inaccordance with the due procedures but it had been suppressedby the PMO without taking any action on it.

The 87-year-old CPI (M) veteran said he had asked his sonto initiate legal steps on other personal allegations levelledagainst him by the UDF leaders.

Releasing copies of his letters to Union Home Minister PChidambaram and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said he hadconsistently fought against lottery mafia.

With the prevention of sale of Bhutan lotteries, thegovernment had been able to arrest the flow of a huge sum tothe tune of Rs 10,000 crore out of the state in the last eightmonths, he claimed.

Refuting Chidambaram''s contention that Achuthanandan hadnot followed the due procedure in seeking the CBI probe, hesaid it was not with the Union Home Minister that he took upthis demand but with the Prime Minister.

What had been sought from Chidrambaram was a ban on saleof other-state lotteries as it had become clear they had beenoperating in violation of the Central Lottery Act, he said.

Chidambaram should reply as to why he did not take actionon Kerala''s demand for a ban on the lotteries which plunderedthe poor people of the state, he said, accusing the HomeMinister of "lying on the matter with the intention of helpingthe lottery mafia".

Asked if his image had been dented by the allegationsagainst his son, Achuthanandan said, "People of Kerala know mevery well and the struggles I have waged against corruption."PTI JRK NM VS RA