PANAJI
Reiterating that offshore casinos are Congress’ gift to the State, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said that the government cannot ban casinos if they are operating within the legal framework.
When asked about the issue of banning casinos not finding any mention in the BJP manifesto, Parsekar said, “This particular issue has been brought up time and again. Let me clarify. Casinos have been the gift of Congress government to the State. None of these casinos have entered Mandovi during BJP’s regime. We had strongly opposed their initiative to bring casinos to Goa, because of which they were restricted to six. We did not entertain any casino during our tenure,” he said.
Pointing out that the government cannot ban casinos if they are operating within the legal frame work, he said, “Laws of the land are binding on everyone. If we do so, they can challenge the order of the government in the court and it could be a slap on the face of the government. We have put several restrictions and we have taken care that Mandovi river is not polluted.”
“So, the question of encouraging new casinos does not arise. Even if we have not listed the issue of casinos in our manifesto, we are trying hard to find alternative site to relocate them, possibly in deep sea or the Aguada Bay or to some other location in the State ,” he said.
