Going against the prevailing wind, Disparsing Rani, who has become well-known for criticising the government through his Right to Information (RTI) findings, today came out in favour of casinos.
The state government had to scrap its plan to introduce casinos in Meghalaya after furious public opposition led by religious groups.
Addressing a press conference, Rani, however, argued in favour of the project, saying it would bring in huge revenue for Meghalaya.
At present there are all manner of small scale gambling activities that go on in the state, such as bullfighting, fishing competitions, fetes, etc, none of which are regulated. Casinos, on the other hand, would bring in huge revenues for the exchequer as they would be regulated and taxed.
There should, in his opinion, be no reason to keep the super rich outsiders or even locals from gambling in casinos when the money they spend there could benefit ordinary Meghalayans who struggle to make ends meet. The industry would also generate jobs for locals and help the economy in other ways too, Rani added.
In a nod to the churches’ opposition, he said, “If the government can do a favour for the churches by providing road connectivity before a church gathering, the question is why you are jealous when the government makes an attempt to bring in revenue?”
According to him, Sikkim, one of only two states where gambling has been legalised (the other being Goa), has benefited through regulated betting.
On the danger that Meghalayans will become addicted to gambling and waste their income in casinos, Rani said that there are many aforementioned ways in which locals already gamble and that the super rich will not be bothered by losing a few thousand rupees at a time in a casino.
He lamented that the state has to take loans even for road projects and there is too much leakage of revenue and corruption due to the coal ban; he claimed that up to Rs 70 lakh is earned through corruption per check gate per day.
