Last week, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, in an interview to Doordarshan said that gambling was not good and added that the government should not encourage it. In the same breath he said that casinos cannot be closed down because of investments made by private players. This is a seemingly contradictory statement couched in clever phrases and words to seduce the general public into believing that Parrikar is anti-gambling, but helpless to do anything about it. What the chief minister did not say in so many words is that the revenue of over Rs 150 crore garnered by the government from casinos each year smells good. By accepting revenue from casinos, yet expressing that gambling is not all that good, Parrikar wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to sit on a moral high horse but not live up to the morals. He wants to be please both the proponents and opponents of casino gambling. In essence, what Parrikar is saying is that revenue earned from casino gambling is dirty money, but the state government will continue to accept it because once it is mixed with all the other money no one can tell the difference.
Casino gambling, for some reason, kicks up fear in the minds of most people. Gambling is a vice. It is an addiction. It’s like drinking alcohol or smoking pot, both of which wan wreak havoc in a person’s life and yet human nature craves it. Perhaps, it’s the excitement and the hope of winning that prods even the most prudent of men to place a wager. The general consensus in the State is not whether casino gambling is good or bad, but that the State can do without it. We want to go back to that pristine Goa which was not contaminated by greed. We want to go back to a time when the means had to be as justifiable as the end. We want a Goa that is family-oriented and not a one that is willing to pander to every tourist’s fantasy.
Parrikar is not the likely person to deliver that Goa to us. And his inability to deliver it to us has nothing to do with the motley crowd that populates his government. It’s just that Parrikar lacks the courage of conviction. He knows the gambling is bad, or at least admits it in public, but is helpless to do anything about it because of the money his government receives by way of taxes. In the end it’s the money that talks and casino owners can breathe easy because they know that the government is vulnerable. They know it’s broke. That is why the Parsekar government had to allow a sixth off-shore casino and hypothecate state roads to be converted into national highways.
If your conscience tells you that gambling is bad then you are duty bound to eliminate this evil. But sailing with one’s feet in two boats is inimical to the health of the person attempting such an act and the State.
