Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister and CPI (M) veteran VS Achuthanandan on Monday refuted the reports that his party Polit Bureau had decided to pull him
up over the lottery issue.
"I don't know anything about it. Do you think that my party would take a stand against strong measures taken by my Government to contain lottery tycoons," he told journalists here.
He was reacting to queries on reports that the PB had yesterday decided to censure him within the party for side stepping the state leadership in writing to the Centre for a CBI probe into irregularities in operation of Bhutan lotteries.
Asserting that no lenience would be shown towards the lottery tycoons who plundered the common man, he said "you all know my avowed position on issues like this...At any cost such plunderers would be allowed to operate in the state."
When reporters asked about the party state secretary Pinaryi Vijayan's comment that the party was not consulted before writing to the Centre for a probe, he said" I am not going to discuss the matter with you and create a controversy out of it."
" I have thoroughly studied all aspects of the issue before taking the steps on it."
Asked if he thought that the discussions on the issue in PB had been deliberately leaked out to media, he shot back saying "how could something that does not exist could be leaked ?"
" Party general secretary Prakas Karat also did not say anything during his briefing. Do you think that my party will disapprove stern actions taken by the LDF Government against the lottery king like Martin", he said.
PTI
First Published: Monday, January 17, 2011, 18:34