MANOHAR PARRIKAR’S NEW FOUND LOVE FOR CASINOS
By Aires Rodrigues
Addressing the Goa Legislative Assembly on 7th August last year Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had categorically and confidently stated that he did not need the revenue from Casinos for Goa’s developmental works.
Obviously branding the revenue from Casinos as “bad” money, Mr. Manohar Parrikar stated that revenue from Casinos would be kept in a separate account and utilized only for homes for the aged and those suffering from Alzheimer's, etc. "We don't want to use that money to buy computers for students," he had said. “We don’t need that money in the budget” is what the Chief Minister further stated while boasting that the State coffers did not need revenue earned from the Casino industry.
Why Manohar Parrikar chose to say he would embalm the aged with such money only he can explain. Is it not a sheer disrespect and insult to the Senior citizens? But the fact is that though five months have elapsed since that assurance by the Chief Minister no such separate account as promised has been set up to date to take stock of that Casino revenue.
It is also worth recalling that calling them "dens of vice", while in the opposition Mr. Manohar Parrikar had led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign against casinos. “We will make sure that casinos are thrown out of Goa," the then leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar had thundered.
He had said that the BJP campaign would not only cover off-shore casinos, but also those which operate in 5-star hotels in the state. The casinos are nothing but dens of vice, he had then asserted.
So after all that talk how does Manohar Parrikar now justify his new found love for Casinos. He had himself led agitations at the Panaji Jetty demanding their immediate removal from the River Mandovi. For the double talk and this inexplicable U turn the people of Panaji may never forgive Manohar Parrikar. Can we trust Manohar Parrikar after all that manipulative talk which fools no one. Mr. Chief Minister, we are not yet showing signs of Alzheimer's and there is no memory loss as far all your talk is concerned.
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