PMK President and Rajya Sabha MP Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday asked the state government to immediately promulgate an ordinance for banning online rummy without delay. AIADMK interim chief E Palaniswami too warned of protests if the rummy ban law is not enacted.
Citing the death of armed reserve constable Kalimuthu of Coimbatore who fatally shot himself after losing Rs 10 lakh in online gambling, Anbumani expressed his condolences and said the death of constable Kaliumuthu was second in a week and 26th in the last 11 months.
Also read: SRM chairman Ravi Pachamuthu leads protest against online rummy in Chennai
The former union health minister wondered how many innocent lives will Tamil Nadu government sacrifice to online gambling. The PMK president, in a series of messages posted on his official Twitter handle, asked why the state government has not promulgated an ordinance banning online gambling even 20 days after the expert committee tabled its report on the same.
ஆன்லைன் சூதாட்டத்தை தடை செய்வதாக வாக்குறுதி அளித்த தமிழக அரசு, வல்லுனர் குழு அறிக்கை அளித்து 20 நாட்கள் ஆகும் நிலையில் இன்று வரை ஆன்லைன் சூதாட்டத் தடை அவசர சட்டத்தை தமிழக அரசு இதுவரை பிறப்பிக்காதது ஏன்? அதற்கு தடையாக இருப்பது எது?(3/4)@CMOTamilnadu
— Dr ANBUMANI RAMADOSS (@draramadoss) July 16, 2022
The expert committee led by retired Madras HC judge K Chandru had submitted its report on banning online gambling nearly three week ago (June 27). On number of occasions, the PMK had organised agitations and mass protests demanding a law to ban online rummy. An earlier law enacted by the previous AIADMK regime was struck down by the Madras High Court for want of data.
Reminding the government of its assurance to ban online rummy, Dr. Ramadoss said, “Online gambling will spoil Tamil Nadu. Lakhs of families will be pushed to penury. To prevent such a dire situation, the Tamil Nadu government must make efforts to promulgate the ordinance without delay.”
The High Court in August 2021 quashed the online rummy ban law enacted by the previous AIDMK government as unconstitutional. E Palaniswami who was elected as interim chief of AIDMK this week, said suicides due to online rummy have increased since the ban was revoked in August 2021.