Shimla, Aug. 2 -- Criticising the state government for reviving the state lottery system, former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Prem Kumar Dhumal on Saturday said "this unfortunate decision will only lead Himachal towards ruin".

On July 31, the cabinet gave nod to the sale of lotteries in the state to generate revenue. The Opposition BJP is targeting the government, calling the decision "anti-people" and had even announced a protest against it on August 6.

Recalling the events that led to the ban in 1999, Dhumal said, "Many employees and retirees lost their salary and retirement earnings in lottery gamble. So when I became the CM in 1998, the next year in 1999, our government decided unanimously that the entire lottery system would ...