Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar questioning Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte’s motive behind asking queries on offshore casinos during the Question Hour on Wednesday also created an uproar.
Just when Speaker Rajendra Arlekar tried to calm the situation, Kandolkar made the atrocious claim.
“There are so many issues concerning Goa but don’t know why some are raising this subject although it does not fall in his constituency,” Parsekar said.
The Opposition benches, including independent MLA Naresh Sawal, Congress legislator Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and others joined Khaunte in protesting the chief minister’s statement.
“This is an issue of the State and many Goans are suffering because of this (off-shore casinos). Their future is being spoilt. It is a Goan issue and not Rohan Khaunte’s issue alone,” Khaunte said amidst the noise.
Former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat then stood up to remind that BJP, that while in Opposition before 2012 it had cornered the Congress-led coalition on the issue. He sought to know what the government has done to vacate the stay, which the casino operators had obtained from the Bombay High Court at Goa. He as CM had issued show cause notices to relocate casinos from their present position, Kamat claimed.
Responding to the supplementary question, Parsekar said there are four off shore casinos and these casinos have given written undertaken to move out of Mandovi River and government is on look out for alternative space to relocate them.
“These casinos licences were not given during BJP government’s tenure. But those who have invested can’t be thrown on the streets. We are considering their cases sympathetically. I don’t even know who are owning the casinos neither have I ever met them,” he said, adding his only concern was that while government is encouraging investors in Goa, it cannot dump the ones who have already
invested.
