KOCHI: Kerala Chief Minster V S Achuthanandan on Monday lashed out at the Central government saying it was 'corrupt' and alleged that it tried to help the lottery mafia.
All effort would be made to make the lotteries flawless, the Chief Minister said at a meet-the-press programme here.
The LDF government will not permit the lottery mafia to gain control over the state's assets, he said.
The Chief Minister said the state government does not have to receive the advance tax from Megha Distributors as it would go against the recently promulgated lottery ordinance, he said.
(Kerala high court had recently directed the state authorities to receive the advance tax from Megha Distributors treating them as promoters of Bhutan lottery in the state).
Accepting that there had been some shortcomings on the government's part in the manner in which the lottery issue was dealt with, the Chief Minister said there was no question of making any official a 'scapegoat'. 'We are taking responsibility for the lottery muddle. No official will be made a scapegoat', he said adding a meeting of officials has been called at Thiruvananthpuram on Oct 20 to discuss the lottery issue.
Asked if he was optimistic about the Smart City project becoming a reality during his government's tenure, Achuthanandan replied in the affirmative.
The project had been delayed as the promoters had been affected by the global recession.
Confident of an LDF victory at this month's civic polls, he said his government was now providing ration rice at Rs 2 a kg, while the central government had promised at Rs 3 a kg.
About 1500 persons caught in debt trap had ended their lives in kerala. But within a year of coming to office, the figures could be brought down by introducing various welfare measures for the affected families.
The Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) was making baseless allegations that the Marxist party was against the church, he said.
Religion should not interfere with politics, he said adding Church should work with caution. Politics should also not mix with religion, he said.
The LDF had not sent any invitation to Manhalamkuzhi Ali, party-backed independent MLA from Mankada in Malappuram, who resigned recently over differences with the party, to return to the LDF fold, Achuthanandan said.