Once again Goa casinos are targeted by political parties, and this time Goa Congress wants the casinos to be closed on Gandhi Jayanti. The Goa Congress spokesperson Aleixo Reginaldo demands that just like liquor shops, the casinos should not be in operation on the Birthday of the Father of Nation.
Aleixo Reginaldo asked BJP, the ruling party of Goa, to shut down dozens of on-shore casinos and the five off-shore casinos for one day as a gesture of respect for Mahatama Gandhi on his Birthday. Supporting his point he said “The BJP once opposed casinos. Now it is the biggest supporters of casinos. Like bars, it should also shut down casinos in Goa for a day as a mark of respect to Mahatma Gandhi.” He further says that BJP was completely against the Casinos in Goa as once it said to dump all the casinos in river Mandovi but now why it is showing cold feet in this matter and even approved license of one more casino earlier this year.
These statements of Congress spokesperson and the thoughts of the party show the complete reversal of roles of these two political parties. When Congress was in power, the BJP accused them for the same and now it’s time for Congress to do this. To this BJP’s State President, Vinay Tendulkar, commented “When it (Congress) was in power, did it keep the casinos closed?”
Though the public opinion is with Congress as they too want the casinos to be closed on 02nd October but why did Congress itself not take this action for 7 years when it was in power in Goa. However, it is a matter of pity that in this political fight all forget that Goa Casinos are one of the biggest sources of income for Goa government!!! Goa offshore casinos continue to be in the news, again for the wrong reasons. With a lull in poker tournament action as well as low footfall, casinos in Goa are going through a tough time now. Will measures like this help? Is a shutdown on a holiday which is also a long weekend attracting high traffic to Goa needed for the gambling industry?