PANAJI
Around a decade ago, ahead of the assembly polls former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar staged a mashaal yatra to protest against the proliferation of offshore casinos in the Mandovi river. But the casinos stayed put.
On Tuesday, years later after Youth Congress workers launched a similar mashaal yatra against a poker tournament organised by one of the casino chains, police rained lathis on the protestors.
The protest was led by Youth Congress president Varad Mardolkar, who demanded a closure of of casino and the cancellation of a five-day high profile poker tournament, accusing the BJP-led coalition government of being biased in favour of the casino lobby, while also questioning how the government was dithering over re-opening of schools, but at the same time allowing unchecked congregations in and outside the casino floors.
"The Goa government does not allow religious functions to be held, schools have not opened fully, so how it is allowing a global poker tournament... Crowds at casinos caused the second Covid wave, such tournaments are invitations for a third wave," Mardolkar told reporters at the protest site.
'ORBIT-Poker Cash Festival', a poker tournament billed as "India's largest poker cash festival and is being held from October 20-24.
After Youth Congress workers blocked the road fronting the shore offices of the offshore casino operations, police ordered a lathi charge on the protestors, which included women.
State Congress president Girish Chodankar described the police action as ruthless and said that the police were acting like hand-maidens of the BJP.
"Congress @INCGoa demands that @DGP_Goa should tell, who ordered lathi charge? Why peaceful protestors were attacked? Why police are acting like BJP’s personal force? Why were even lady protestors chased and lathi charged? What was the fear about Mashal Morcha?" he also said.
The controversial offshore casino industry has witnessed and survived numerous such protests.
Years after his mashaal yatra, Parrikar in 2016 said that offshore casinos were a "fait accompli" served to his BJP government by the previous Congress regime, under which casino licences were liberally allotted.
Parrikar was not the only BJP Chief Minister to plead helplessness to take on the casino industry, with former CM Laxmikant Parsekar in 2015, that if he stops the industry, he would "get a slap in the face" by Courts.
