Puducherry government has prepared Draft Bill to ban online rummy: PWD Minister Lakshminarayanan

Bharatiya Janata Party legislator P.M.L. Kalyanasundaram said the youth should be protected as there were instances of the players falling prey to the game.

Puducherry Public Works Department Minister K. Lakshminarayanan announced a draft bill to ban online rummy games in the Union Territory. | Photo Credit: KUMAR SS

Minister for Public Works K. Lakshminarayanan announced in the territorial Assembly on Thursday that the Puducherry Government had prepared a Draft Bill to ban online rummy games in Union Territory and it would be sent to the Centre for approval.

Replying to the pleas by members belonging to the ruling and opposition blocks after the opposition DMK leader R. Siva tabled a call attention motion seeking steps to ban online rummy games, the PWD Minister said: “There is no second opinion on the part of the government to ban the game. We have prepared a Bill to ban it and after getting approval of the Centre the Bill would be placed on the table of the House for a detailed debate and after adoption of the Bill, the necessary Act would be enforced.”

Earlier moving the call attention motion, Mr. Siva said there was an immediate need to ban the game. Another DMK Legislator L. Sampath said he had prepared a draft regulation and submitted it to the Puducherry government to ban the online rummy.

Bharatiya Janata Party legislator P.M.L. Kalyanasundaram said the youth should be protected as there were instances of the players falling prey to the game.  

Replying to the members’ pleas, Mr. Lakshminarayanan said the government had prepared the necessary Bill. “The Bill is now ready and with the territorial government itself having the powers to frame the legislation we have done all the groundwork. Since the Bill involved penal provisions, there was a need for the government to refer it to the Centre. The Draft Bill would be sent to the Centre for approval. As soon as the Centre’s nod is available the Bill would be placed on the table of the House for a detailed debate”.

Mr. Lakshminarayanan also made a suo moto announcement after zero hour in the House today that the Centre had sanctioned ₹92.47 crores for the construction of fish landing facilities in the coastal villages of Periya Kalapet, Nallavadu, and the expansion of fishing harbour in Thengaitttu.

All three projects are fully funded by the Centre and they would be completed in the next 18 months, he said.