PANJIM: A day after State government notified appointment of a Gaming Commissioner to regulate the casino industry, the Congress has termed the move as ‘mere eyewash’ claiming that Commissioner has no powers in the absence of Gaming Rules, which are yet to be framed and notified.
On Friday, the State government notified appointment of Gaming Commissioner and ban on entry of Goans into casino from February 1.
Addressing the media on Saturday, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Girish Chodankar said that the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act has already been amended by a BJP-led dispensation in 2012 to make way for the appointment of a Gaming Commissioner and to ban entry of Goans into casino, but for eight years, the amendments were never implemented.
“The Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant’s move to appoint a Gaming Commissioner is like throwing dust in the eyes of the people. It’s mere eyewash. The law was already amended in 2012 to appoint a Gaming Commissioner, but successive BJP governments did nothing to implement it for eight years. This is nothing new that the government has done,” Chodankar said.
“The BJP should now answer why, despite amending the law in 2012, no rules were notified to allow for appointment of the Commissioner or for the official’s functioning,” he demanded.
Chodankar charged that the government is not serious as far as regulating the casino industry is concerned. “If the government was really serious, then, before appointing the Commissioner, the Rules would have been framed and notified. In the absence of Rules, the Commissioner has no powers,” he argued.
He also said that rather than appointing a full-fledged Gaming Commissioner, the additional charge is given to Commissioner for GST.
The Congress leader further charged that the move is basically to threaten the casino lobby. “It is basically an idea to loot the casino lobby. I feel bad for casino industry which has always been an ATM for BJP,” he said.
There are currently six offshore casinos operating in Goa.
