The State leadership of the Congress has little support from the High Command in the lottery issue thanks to the financial support being extended to the party by lottery tycoons including Mani Kumar Subba and Santiago Martin, O. Rajagopal, senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has said.
Adderssing ‘Thrithalam 2010’, a meet-the-press organized by the Ernakulam Press Club here on Wednesday, Mr Rajagopal said that the appearance of Abhishek Manu Singhvi, national spokesperson of the Congress for Megha distributors (promoters of Sikkim and Bhutan lotteries in the State) in the Kerala High Court was an example of the influence of the lottery tycoons on the party.
He said that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had also supported Santiago Martin, lottery tycoon, during their regime.
Blaming both the UDF and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) for supporting the lottery mafia in the State, Mr. Rajagopal said that the local body election will pave way for a cleansing in the State politics. He said that the UDF and LDF had failed to contain terror activities in the State by failing to act earnestly against those involved in various cases.
Referring to the Ayodhya verdict, Mr. Rajagopal said that certain vested interests were now trying to mislead the people by stating that the verdict was based on faith and not proof.
Eom/ krishnakumar
