Need to hear all sides, says Dr Rebelo
the goan I network
PANAJI
“We are certainly against the casinofication of Goa. We will hold a series of specific dialogues only on casinos. We believe we are taking the right step in deciding to lean on the side that isn’t in favour of
casinos in Goa,” AAP State convenor Dr Oscar
Rebelo said.
“It is only through dialogue that we will be able to hear both sides of the argument including the business side because if at all we need to remove the casinos, we need to study the effects or the impact it will have on the revenues and economy of the State,” Dr Rebelo added. He said that it was a compulsion that the AAP were putting themselves through in order to have a thorough understanding of issues.
Speaking on similar lines on the mining issue, Dr Rebelo said that on one hand it was easy to take a ‘drawing room moral high ground’ on the issue but the people on the ground certainly wanted more mining as there was no other way to put food on the table.
“It is only when you actually dialogue with people that you know what the people may not want that moral high ground,” Dr Rebelo said adding that on the other hand one can’t give the people whatever they want.
“It is a stated position of the party and Arvind Kejriwal that in response to their demand that the cap on mining be lifted, that the party, if it comes to power will approach the Supreme Court backed by a proper study defending the increase in cap. Only if the Supreme Court agrees with us can the cap be lifted,” Dr
Rebelo said. He said that the party is drawing up a mining action plan which would be ready over the coming months.
The party also revealed that it was very encouraged by the response it has received for its meetings and dialogues.
“It is for the first time that the people have seen such an initiative where a political party actually asks them what they want,” national secretary Pankaj Gupta said adding that they would and have meetings in each village rather than each constituency in a bid to increase participation.
