UNI

Bangalore, Apr 5: The Karnataka Government is contemplating to ban horse racing in the State, Lotteries Minister Ramachandra Gowda informed the Legislative Council on Wednesday.

Intervening during a discussion on the affairs of the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) during question hour, he said the State Government had banned all kinds of lotteries, losing revenue of Rs 250 crore annually, and now proposed to ban horse racing in the State.

Earlier, the House witnessed uproarious scenes when the State Government sought more time to reply to a question raised by Congress member Veerakumar Patil, seeking information about BTC's revenue, the State nominees in its management and related issues.

Patil accused the Government of not forthcoming with answers for his query in the last two occasions.

Leader of the Opposition H K Patil demanded a House Committee probe into the affairs of the BTC and sought to know whether it was above the State Government as the information sought by the members was not being provided.

Congress members V S Ugrappa, V R Sudarshan, JD(U)'s Basavaraj Bommai and Dr M P Nadagouda and BJP's Aravinda Limbavali also objected the State Government withholding the information.