India cabinet member says he “will not give permission” to authorize casinos

India’s transport minister says attempts to legalize casinos in the country won’t happen on his watch.

This week, Transport minister Nitin Gadkari (pictured) told reporters that he was not at all down with talk of authorizing casinos. Apparently speaking on behalf of the ruling BJP party, Gadkari said “we oppose things like casinos and I will not give permission for that. People will also not tolerate such things.”

In October, the state of Maharashtra, which includes the country’s capital Mumbai, was ordered by the Bombay High Court to formally decide whether or not to authorize casino gambling within its borders. The ruling was sparked after a law student discovered that a 38-year-old statute had permitted casinos, but the state government had never notified the statute.

State officials have reportedly been told to get a move on in order to meet the Court’s six-month deadline, but Gadkari, Maharashtra’s former Public Works minister, is clearly advocating for a negative response. Gadkari suggested that the country’s nearly 1,300 islands might want to develop their tourism industry by opening “entertainment facilities” but “definitely not casinos.”