'No proposal to legalise betting'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 16. Within 24 hours of the Union Sports Minister, Mr. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, announcing that the Government might legalise betting, the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, asserted today that there was no such proposal before the Government.

In his remarks at the national executive of the BJP, the Prime Minister did not hide his unhappiness on the tendency on the part of some of his ministerial colleagues and leaders of the NDA to speak out of turn.

``We must be very careful about all our statements to the press. We must resist the temptation of speaking too frequently. I have read some reports on cricket betting. The Government has no proposal to legalise betting. We are all for eliminating this menace,'' Mr. Vajpayee said.

The Prime Minister's warning to the NDA partners and his ministerial colleagues assumes significance as the second half of the budget session of Parliament resumes tomorrow and the Government will have to mobilise every single member of the ruling combine in the Lok Sabha to ensure a smooth passage for the Finance Bill and demands for grants of some of the important Ministries.

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