Whole Govt. can run on casinos : Churchill

Part II

Sandesh Prabhudesai
13 September 1996 

Nowadays, you call yourself anti-Congress. But you are the same one who were trying to seek re-entry into the Congress party before LS polls. And your sole MLA Arecio D'Souza is supporting the Congress government in Goa on each and every issue. Don't you think this is hypocrisy ?

It's a false notion that I was trying to join the Congress. Well, it's true some Congress leaders were trying for it. But I will never do it. As far as question of Arecio supporting the local Congress government is concerned, I really don't know why he is doing it. We had told him not to support. But what do we benefit from opposing the government ? At least some developmental work gets done if we support them. I don't call it hypocrisy.

In what way the UGDP is ideologically different from the Congress ?

Let my party come to power in Goa. Then I'll show you how we are different. They (Congress) are fooling our Goan youth in giving them jobs. Let me get a chance. I'll give 99 per cent jobs to Goans.

What are the prospects of your party coming to power in Goa ?

Very bright. We'll win minimum 25 seats out of 40 in the next Assembly polls. The panchayat elections are also approaching in November. You just wait and watch. We'll have more than 70 per cent panchayats in our hand.

You and Khalap wanted to form one regional party by merging the MGP and the UGDP, in order to bring Hindus and Catholics together. Why the plans got fizzled out ?

Who says it's fizzled out ? We want to get the MGP with us. But not the leaders, only the workers. In fact I want also to align with the cadres of BJP and Shiv Sena. They were running behind the oasis till date. Now they are joining us in a big way. In fact Hindus are the main force of our party today.

Mr Khalap has mooted the idea of Konkan Forum, of all the MPs representing the Konkan belt. Would you join hands with him ?

I won't be part of it. What will we benefit with it ? I don't know his motives behind it. May be he is trying again to merge Goa into Maharashtra.

But while demanding ministerial position, you were posing yourself as the sole representative of minority community from the Konkan belt ...

I didn't say Konkan, I said western belt. I don't know whether it's a political move on Khalap's part. Okay, I'll attend his first meeting and then decide what to do.

What are the priorities you have set as the MP ?

Clearing the backlog is a big task in itself. It involves inclusion of Gawadas, Kunbis and Dhangars into the scheduled tribe, a kabarasthan for Muslims, playgrounds, upgradation of telecommunications system for the whole state, pollution-free industries, recruitment board for Konkan railway in Goa etc. Unlike the previous practice, I'll utilise the MP's funds in the tribal areas for roads, wells, buildings etc and not to donate computers in the schools.

What about the fisheries sector, you yourself being a fisherman ?

Well, there are some plans like a new fishing jetty in the port town, dredging at river mouths to ease the trawler movement etc.

What about the joint venture fishing vessels anchored at Mormugao harbour ?

No. Enough is enough. I'll see that the government doesn't change its stand of not renewing their licences while not allowing any more such vessels in our country.

Because it affects business of the small trawlers ...

It's not issue of small or big trawlers. They catch huge amount of fish, but select only 10 per cent of it. Remaining dead fish is thrown out into the sea again. Why do we need such a fishing business ?

You haven't said anything about tourism. It's your favourite...

How can I forget tourism ? It's a gold mine for Goans. But the government has not planned it properly. We can earn lot of foreign exchange on it, especially if we encourage upmarket tourism. What's the use of getting masons and carpenters by charter flights ? You can kill two birds in one stone if upmarket tourism is stressed upon. We can run the state without taxing the people if enough amount of revenue is collected from the infrastructural facilities we provide for them. Secondly, it would provide jobs to all.

But is it true that the five star lobby is not too happy with the construction ban within 200 metres from the High Tide Line (HTL) ?

I don't know what they feel. But I personally feel the ban is hampering our tourism development. Foreigners come here to enjoy our beaches. Who would like to come here if hotels are far away from the beaches ? The hotels should be spread all along the coastline. At least the shacks on the beaches was little relief. That too has been stopped from this year due to Supreme Court guidelines. Does it have any sense ?

What about casinos ? Is it sensible ?

The most sensible decision of the Congress government, I would say. It'll give big relief to the locals, in terms of employment as well as taxes. The government could be run with the revenue on casinos alone. It can be diverted for developmental schemes. N T Rama Rao diverted funds of others schemes to sell rice for Rs 2. But with casinos, you can sell rice for Rs 2 while implementing all the schemes. It'll also provide good business for the tourist taxis and 12-month employment in the hotels, without any break in the off season.

But what if the local population gets addicted to this gambling ?

You restrict their entry. Don't allow any Indian, not only a Goan, unless he pays Rs two lakh as the membership fee. The government proposal to reduce income tax certificate is no good. The Indians shouldn't be allowed to play even on the slot machines in the five star hotels if such feels are not paid.

And one more thing. The decision to have offshore casinos is a useless one. We should have casinos on the shore.

The opposition calls it 'sinful money'. Does it suit our Indian traditions to make money on gambling ?

What traditions you are talking about ? It's all over the world since ages. We simply make it a moralistic issue. The BJP tried to stop one-digit lotteries in Delhi on the same grounds, but the court allowed it.

They also say it would boost prostitution. It's all bogus. Our women may be poor, but not of immoral character. And 'they' come here to gamble, not for such kind of fun. They are decent people, you know.

But, is prostitution good ?

Presume it's bad. But imagine if prostitution is actually banned. The militarymen and sailors would finish our women. Sexual urge is a natural instinct. Prostitution is a remedy on it. We shouldn't suppress such things. There is censorship on kissing in the films. That's why maximum kissing takes place in India.

They say AIDS cases would increase after casinos are allowed. It's a foolish argument. Nowadays science tells us what is TB, cancer, AIDS etc. God knows for how long AIDS was existing in India and how many people died due to it. They are scared of rapes. But there are more cases of our own people raping the Goan girls. In fact our own people raped the nude hippies roaming nude on the Goan beaches. To tell you the fact, I have helped at least 300 girls financially who were pregnant due to pre-marital sexual relations. Tourists were not responsible for it.

Your pro-five star tourism people also demand golf courses in Goa. But can we spare so much of water for gardening when Goa is starving for drinking water ?

I agree we shouldn't have golf courses in the cities, due to water scarcity. But we can have it in the villages. We don't know how to save rainy water. If we plan properly, Goa can have 15 such golf courses without any problem. Tourism is the backbone of our economy. We should develop it, without getting our local population hampered.

Mining is actually the real backbone of Goan economy. But Goa is the only state where mining is not nationalised. It has ruined the state more than helping us economically.

Well, it's true. We should have levied more octroi and other taxes on mining in order to develop the state. But you know, the mine owners dominate the state of affairs today. I don't want to comment anything at this stage. Let my party come to power.

Will you nationalise mining ?

No comments, at least at this stage. Don't ask me why. You know it.

Your Comments Please