Arvind Kejriwal Accuses Goa Casinos of Cheating Government of ₹4,000 Crores in Taxes

Arvind Kejriwal
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  • PG News January 9, 2017
  • 2 Minutes Read

On Sunday, Arvind Kejriwal (cover image), Delhi Chief Minister, accused Goa casinos of hoodwinking the state treasury of ₹4,000 Crores in tax revenue year after year. Additionally, he also insinuated that the major political parties, BJP and Congress as well as Manohar Parrikar, the Defence Minister were hand in glove with the casino lobby especially in tourism-oriented states to carry out this coveted affair. As per figures, Goa Casinos contributed ₹135 crores to the state revenue in 2013.

Justifying his allegations, the Aam Aadmi Party convener pointed out, “The actual tax collection from the casino industry in Goa should be ₹4,000 crore. How much does the Goa government get in from the casinos? ₹200 crore. If government ministers and officers are cheating the government treasury of ₹4,000 Crore, can you imagine how much money they are pocketing?”

Goa is one of only three states permitted to have casinos, the other two being Daman and Sikkim. Our very own substitute for Las Vegas or Reno, folks make sojourns throughout the year to Goa to try their luck at the casinos. Out of the 10 casinos in Goa, six are land based while the rest are offshore ones operating on the Mandovi River, off Panaji. In the 2012-13 fiscal, Goa Casinos had contributed a healthy ₹135.45 crores to the state revenue.

It was while Kejriwal was addressing a public meeting in Mapusa town, located about 10 kms north of the state capital, that he made these allegations.

Continuing with the tirade, he threw up questions in the air, saying, “Last time, in 2012, Parrikar had said when the BJP comes to power; all casinos will be done away with. Why did he forget this when he came to power? He must have got a share of the casino revenue spoils. How much money did the BJP get, how much money did the Congress and officials get from the casino industry.”

He also broached on the exploitation of women in those casinos promising to ban them for good if AAP comes into power. “Women are raped, women are exploited, prostitution, gambling and every kind of crime occurs in these casinos. Goans are tired of casinos. BJP cheated Goans because it is corrupt, Congress is also corrupt. Only an honest party can stop casinos,” he said.

He was also quick to mention that his party is immune to the charms of the casino cartel. It is clear that Casinos in the state will be major bone of contention during the upcoming elections and only time will tell if their fate changes once the results are declared.

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