In a recent strategic meet in Goa of the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD)- BJP combine, the leaders were seen hunting for details about the thriving Goa Casino industry. In Goa to discuss Punjab’s ailing financial health, many leaders visited the popular Casino Pride and inquired about details about the casino industry of Goa which accounts for a major chunk of Goa tourism.
While Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal preferred to stay away but it was reported that many other leaders showed interest in knowing the functioning of the floating casinos of Goa.
It is worth mentioning here that in August 2012 Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal had asked the state infrastructure development agency to develop a plan to set a Vegas like casino strip near the banks of Sutlej in Ludhiana. A committee was even sent to Goa to see the casino set up on the River Mandovi. While a lot of discussion had happened that time but later the project went into the pipeline. The recent ‘chintan shivir’ plus casino visits have again ignited the talks of Punjab becoming the third state in India to legalise Casinos.