AIZAWL, Sept 4: Mizoram’s main Opposition, Mizo National Front, today reminded Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla of the former’s demand to call in the CBI to probe into the alleged irregularities in the State Lottery. The Chief Minister, in a press statement, told the Opposition party to “rest assured”. The MNF submitted a letter to the CM on July 11 demanding him to call in the country’s premier investigating agency to probe into the staggering loss of Rs 11,808.77 crore in the State-run Lottery “As there was no sign of action on the part of the government, we went to the Chief Secretary on September 1 to inquire if the government has taken any step. He informed that he was yet to receive any instruction from the CM (to call in the CBI),” MNF MLA Dr K Beichhua said.
On Friday afternoon, the MNF team proceeded to the CMO insisting on seeing the CM. However, the Chief Minister refused to see them, Dr Beichhua said. It might be recalled that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, in its report tabled in the State Assembly last December, found a host of anomalies in the way the Mizoram Government handled the State Lotteries that eventually resulted in a staggering loss of Rs 11,808.77 crore, which is much more than the State’s annual budget. According to the CAG report, the Mizoram government allowed the distributors to evade income tax by using a loophole. The Income Tax Act, 1961, demands that 10 per cent of commissions payable to the distributors be deducted as income tax at source by the State Government. But this was never done because the State never collected the sales proceeds.
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