Thiruvananthapuram, Monday, October 18, 2010: The union Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran today told that the Centre was ready to conduct a CBI probe into the inter State lottery issue if the State government demands.

Speaking to the reporters in Thiruvananthapuram today, Mullappally added that the Centre would ban the Inter state lotteries if the investigation revealed that Santiago Martin had violated the lottery laws.

While State Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said here on Monday that the lottery issue had turned out to be a damp squib for the United Democratic Front (UDF).

Addressing the Janahitham 2010 election programme, organised by the Kollam Press Club, he said the UDF was under the wrong notion that it could reap electoral gains by raking up the lottery issue. The Minister said the people had begun to see the truth after Congress leader Abishek Singhvi appeared in Court on behalf of the lottery lobby.