Goa Congress chief Luizinho Faleiro today charged that the state was turning into a "sin city" because of its casinos as he accused successive governments of being responsible for the situation.
Talking to the media on the sidelines of the party's executive committee meeting, Faleiro said the issue of casinos would feature prominently in the party's election campaign in 2017.
"Successive governments, including of Congress and BJP, have promoted casinos, thinking it would help tourism... But casinos have now turned Goa into a sin city, a place of vice. The casinos have ruined Goa's reputation," he said.
The issue of removal of casinos from river Mandovi comes up regularly ahead of elections.
"Shutting down the casinos will affect government revenues in the short term, but this revenue comes at a price that shows itself through social decay and damage to Goa's image," Faleiro said.
Claiming that BJP had before the 2012 Assembly elections promised to ban offshore casinos in Goa, he said, "It has been three years now, what happened to BJP's promise?
"If the BJP wants help to do away with casinos in Goa, the Congress is willing to help it now.
