Panaji : The Congress Monday reiterated its demand for a symbolic closure of Goa’s many casinos in deference to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary, Oct 2.
Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said that along with bars, pubs and all alcohol-selling outlets which are compulsorily closed on Gandhi Jayanti, the five offshore and a dozen onshore casinos should also be made to shut shop for a day.
“Prime minister Narendra Modi keeps lauding about Gandhian virtues on every public occasion, including his visit to the United States. The BJP government in Goa should follow his cue and stop casinos operations on October 2,” Kamat said, a few days after his party’s legislative party spokesperson Aleixo Reginaldo made the same demand.
State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Vinay Tendulkar Sunday dismissed the Congress demand. “When they were in power, did they keep it closed,” Tendulkar had asked.
When the BJP was in the opposition, it had accused the erstwhile Congress government of allowing casinos to set up shop and proliferate in the state. BJP leaders then had even threatened to “drown the casinos in the Mandovi river”, which flanks the state capital.
Once in power however, the BJP is now being accused of cosying up to casino lobby by the Opposition and civil society.
In a bid to step up pressure on the BJP government, the Congress has also threatened to release past videos of BJP leaders, who when in Opposition, had led a sustained campaign against casinos, threatening to throw them out of Goa.
“We are going to release videos on the social media, where the BJP, including the current chief minister had led morchas against the casino industry, threatening to dump them in the Mandovi river,” Kamat said.
Goa, known as the mecca of nightlife tourism and its cheap, liberal liquor regime is also emerging as the country’s leading gambling destination; the Las Vegas of India.