KERALA LOTTERY MESS: Sheer gambling

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

New rules aim to make the murky lottery business transparent

Kerala once led the nation in pioneering the state-run lucky draws when the late PK Kunju Sahib, the then Finance Minister in the EMS Ministry started lotteries under the Department of Lotteries in 1967 for resource mobilisation for development. It is an irony that the latest row over lottery sales erupted in Kerala, that too, when the Left Democratic Front is ruling. Lottery mafia has been minting money for long. 'Craze for other state lotteries like a disease is eating into the vitals of the state,' Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan said. 'Under the pretext of official approval of Sikkim and Bhutan, a big gambling business is going on in the state. A large chunk of labourers are lured by its temptation and ruined,' he said on the Independence Day.

The Kerala High Court has on August 30 directed the state government and the Secretary, State Taxes Department, to conduct a probe into the Bhutan and Sikkim lotteries marketed in the state and to take immediate action against them. The court directed the promoters of the Sikkim and Bhutan lotteries ' Megha Distributors ' to pay advance tax for one draw a week while considering two petitions submitted by S. Sulfikar of Palayam, Kozhikode and M. Suresh Kumar of Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram, for a ban on the sale of lotteries of the Royal Government of Bhutan and Sikkim State Lotteries.

The issue is getting murkier by the day. Megha Distributors is run by Santiago Martin. It is learnt that many party projects have his financial backing. Not long back, the CPI(M) was compelled to return Rs.2 crore collected from Santiago Martin as bond for Desabhimani, the party's mouthpiece. Hence it is but natural that people felt something fishy when the name of Santiago Martin and Megha Distributors came up in the latest controversy.

Currently, the Chief Minister has added an amendment that advance tax should be collected only from lotteries running as per Rule 4 of the Act to the Lottery Ordinance proposed by Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac. CM's step is to rein in other state lottery mafia. The amended ordinance may be promulgated soon. Meanwhile, the State Lottery Department has issued orders canceling all its lotteries except Win-Win and Thiruvonam Bumper. Till recently, there were six weekly lottery tickets, two bi-weekly and six bumper tickets.

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy said the United Democratic Front was opposed to the move to ban Kerala lottery and viewed the Finance Minister's statement on this as blackmailing of three lakh people engaged in selling them.

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TAMIL NADU LIQUOR: State concerned about revenue, not moral responsibility

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

The business of the booze

The one area where sworn rivals DMK and AIADMK would not mind sharing a common platform is liquor sales through the government-owned Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) outlets. Thanks to the golden eggs laying goose that the corporation is (it generates a whopping Rs.12,500 crore annually for the state exchequer), the DMK led government is able to go for various free schemes. From free colour television sets to rice at one rupee per kilogram, the government is on a populist path. It has also announced free concrete housing scheme recently for the poor.

Recently it was in the news that 39 new brands will be introduced and six new licenses would be given for setting up breweries. So when the government goes on adding more brands to its kitty by giving clear. The tipplers have every reason to rejoice. However, Kannan, the general manager of TASMAC, while talking to TSI gives a different view point. 'The government has given many licenses for production of liquor brands. As of now, 352 brands of whiskey, brandy, wine, gin, vodka and beer are sold through our outlets. But of them only 110 brands are in existence. Companies introduce new brands every month and based on their sales, these brands thrive in the market. But I do not agree by the newspaper reports that about 39 new brands will be coming. The number may vary'

Tamil Nadu has 6700 retail shops where around 30,000 employees work. When recently these employees went for a strike asking for permanent jobs and other benefits, the government took serious measures to ensure that the tipplers were not affected. It made sure the liquor shops were opened. At many places the police were seen regulating the otherwise unruly crowd and helping in the sale.

After a few days the government also announced slight pay hike for the employees of TASMAC. But the increased sale of liquor in the state has also attracted public criticism. There are incidents of school children caught drunk. After requests for bringing prohibition from political parties like the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and other organisations, the chief minister decided to revise the timings of the shops. Recently, when the employees of TASMAC announced a strike, Karunanidhi threatened to bring prohibition in the state.

The debate whether to bring prohibition or not in the state and the ethical question of the state itself selling liquor to its masses is perennial. The tipplers have their own worries about the unhygienic conditions in the makeshift bars attached with the retail shops. But as long as the cash counters are busy, the government doesn't seem to worry about this.

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FOREIGN RELATIONS: US-CHINA

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

China persistently refuses to succumb to the US pressure and tactics.

The Obama administration's foreign policy started on a hopeful note especially vis-a-vis China. Efforts to infuse new life into military and economic cooperation, buttressed by the much hyped presidential visit to Beijing raised expectations. However, this initial exhilaration soon fizzled out, and today these two nations can't seem to agree on any issue including sanctions on Iran, arms sales to Taiwan and nuclear proliferation of North Korea! No matter how much the US wants 'strategic reassurances' from China and no matter how much the US Deputy Secretary of State, James Steinburg, emphasises on the areas of cooperation, the two countries converge in viewpoints only on cooperation in economy and in taming terrorism.

China is at odds with the US on a number of issues. The US strategy to persuade its allies in the Middle East to augment their oil exports to China in order to make it less reliant on Iran (read ' to force China to move away from Iran) will undermine this bonhomie. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have already done that at America's insistence. China is unlikely to buckle under these indirect pressures from the US, as it has its own long term interests in Iran. The Chinese investment in the energy sector of Iran is $40 billion with booming bilateral trade worth $21.2 billion.

The confrontational postures between the US and China on climate change ensured that Copenhagen summit was a failed mission last year. These two nations between them account for about 40 per cent of the total global gas emissions, making them the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the world. Since they could not come to terms, no constructive legislation could be passed, much to the frustration of many European nations that were serious for a breakthrough. China was infuriated by the termination of climate change aid' which the US provides to all developing countries. The citation provided for this was that China had the largest foreign exchange reserves in the world, and thus was ineligible for such aid.

The US and its allies have been quite candid with their criticism on China's close ties with North Korea, and its unwillingness to leverage the position in persuading Pyongyang to regress to talks. China on its part maintained that North Korea is not a Chinese stooge. China's worst fear is the economic collapse of North Korea and its consequent political subversion' an opportunity that the US will grasp along with South Korea to set up American military base in the Korean peninsula! Therefore a strong and stable North Korea is in China's interest who is the lone provider of foreign aid to Pyongyang.

Another bone of contention between the two countries is the arms sale to Taiwan by the US. In spite of the fact that arms deals worth $6.4 billion struck between the two allies is defensive by nature, China reacted angrily by suspending military exchanges and imposing sanctions on weapon manufacturers that traded with Taiwan. The initial euphoria that Obama brought into the Sino-American relationship has evaporated. What remains is acrimony, aggravation, opportunism and, of course, a bitter struggle for regional hegemony.

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