PALMA
THE Federation of Pensioners Clubs in the Balearics, FEDAS, said yesterday that it was delighted that Pilar Costa, the regional Minister for Justice, had given the all clear for the practice of bingo to be continued on club premises.
Top Federation members had met with Costa after three clubs, two in Palma and one in Soller had been raided by National Police following reports of the sale of 10-cent bingo cards at the clubs - technically illegal on unlicensed premises.
The Federation had complained that the unannounced presence of armed National Police officers at the pensioners' clubs was totally disproportionate in the case of retired people who were quietly enjoying themselves without doing harm to anyone else.
A Federation spokesman pointed out that the pensioners' clubs are not profit-making organisations.
Meanwhile, the Partido Popular (PP) in opposition in the Balearic government are demanding an explanation from the Justice Minister Costa. The ministry has made a mountain out of a molehill, a PP spokesman claimed, calling for Costa to appear before an Institutional Committee to explain her actions..