AIZAWL, July 14 - Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on Friday flatly denied any involvement of underhand dealings in the State Government lottery that has incurred a loss of over Rs 11,000 crore during the last six years.
�Lal Thanhawla or Finance Minister Lalsawta did not swindle even a single paisa from the State lottery turnovers,� Lal Thanhawla said, in reaction to the opposition Mizo National Front�s allegations.
The CM counter accused the MNF of �sordidly handling� the State lottery during its ten-year rule from 1998 to 2008. �It would have been better if they (MNF) had been concerned about the State lottery as they are now,� he added.
Refuting MNF�s allegations that the Chief Minister �refused� to initiate a CBI inquiry into the alleged scam in the State lottery, Lal Thanhawla said, �As I had verbally promised, I took initiatives to call in the CBI to probe into the alleged irregularities in Mizo Carbon Pvt Ltd and State lottery. I got calls from CBI offices in Delhi and Imphal to be told that there was nothing to probe into the Mizo Carbon Pvt Ltd. I have not received any response with regards to the lottery,� he stated.
State Finance department on Tuesday issued a notification, suspending all State lottery contracts of four distributors and selling agents, an official said on Thursday.
