Past promises on casinos not kept, says Goa Congress

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's announcement in the Assembly that the government intends to ban Goans from entering casinos is being taken with a pinch of salt by opposition parties and NGOs who say past promises made in this regard have not been fulfilled. The Opposition Congress on Thursday dismissed the statement as a "gimmick", while an NGO demanded the casinos be shutdown forthwith.

Sawant had said on Wednesday told the House the BJP- led government is planning to ban Goans from entering casinos both onshore and offshore. He said the Goa Gambling Act speaks about setting up casinos for tourism purposes and not for locals.

The Congress said a similar statement was made by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, but the promise was never fulfilled. "The statement is merely a gimmick by the BJP-led government which is not serious about shutting down the casinos. Our demand is that the casinos be shutdown completely in Goa," state Congress spokesman Trajano DMello told PTI.

He said the BJP, which has its slogan of Akhand Bharat (undivided India) should not differentiate between Goans and non-Goans. "What is the BJP trying to say? Do they mean to say that let non-Goans get ruined by playing in casinos and Goans remain safe?, DMello said.

"Casinos have converted Goa into a sin city. If we continue the same way then Goa is going to drains, he said. A prominent anti-gambling NGO - Aam Admi Aurat Against Gambling (AAAG) too sounded cautious about Sawant's announcement.

"We dont want casinos in Goa. In case any legislative changes are ought to be made to the Act, then it should ensure that casinos are shunted out of Goa, AAAG leader Sabina Martins said. "Goas Gambling policy is bad because it is destroying our human resources and taking away health from Goa, Martins said, adding this industry provides employment to non-Goans and not the locals.

She said instances of women being exploited in casinos have been reported in the past, which expose illegalities at these gambling spots. Currently, Goa has six offshore and eight onshore casinos which collectively generated a revenue of around Rs 400 crore in the last fiscal..

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