Calangute, May !6 (TOI): The people of Goa are against corruption and those who are selling Goa wholesale, said AICC general secretary Girish Chodankar. "Certain sections are giving the impression that it's about discarding old faces and inducting new ones as Congress candidates in the coming elections. But simply replacing the old with new will not change anything as many of the new faces are more corrupt and greedy. People are against those who are entering politics to make money," he said at a meeting at Nagoa-Arpora on Sunday.
With elections fast approaching Congressmen need to avoid making false promises, he added. "As elections approach, we tend to give false assurances. This has to be avoided. We should not promise something which we cannot deliver. Take Mopa for example. It was proposed during the earlier Congress government. If we come to power, we will have to go ahead with it. How can we give assurances that we will scrap Mopa?" he said.
He also said that Goa is losing over 5,000 crore in revenue due to the corrupt BJP government, and challenged chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar to take action. "Allow me to monitor and administer all casinos in Goa as per Goa Gambling Act , 2013. I can fetch you 5,000 crore a year instead of 150 crore. I will help you make Goa a zero-taxed state with free water and electricity to the poor and middle class," he said. "The CM has accepted only the suggestion of restricting Goans entering casinos, but ignored others including implementation of Goa Gambling Act, 2013 and removing casinos from River Mandovi."