Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai today (28 June) questioned the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government over the appointments to the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority after the suicide of Mariselvam in Tenkasi's Sankarankovil due to losses in online rummy.

The incident has occurred after the enactment of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act that banned online rummy.

He said, "I am deeply saddened to hear that a young man named Mariselvam committed suicide after losing money in online rummy near Tenkasi Sankarankovil. My deepest condolences to his family.

"The DMK government had said that it is going to form a five-member Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority including a retired officer of the rank of Chief Secretary, a retired police officer of not less than IG rank and a top psychologist.

"But even after two months, no announcement has been made about it.

"Without thinking about the real solutions to the problems, this incompetent DMK government has been staging a drama to distract the people by making announcements to hide their failure. Another life has been lost due to the lack of measures to implement the Act. On behalf of @BJP4Tamilnadu, I urge the Tamil Nadu government to take steps to solve the problem instead of issuing announcements just for publicity."

The DMK government, which notified the creation of the Authority and rules framed under the Act banning online rummy in April, was at loggerheads with Governor RN Ravi over the issue and had held him responsible for deaths caused during the time the Bill was with him for his assent.