PANAJI, Goa, India - A minister in India’s resort state of Goa
has drawn ridicule by saying women in bikinis should be banned from
beaches and girls in short dresses should not visit pubs.
Sudin Dhavalikar, the state’s Public Works Department Minister, told
reporters on Tuesday that bikini wearing “can attract problems like
molestations” which police find out about too late to deal with.
“I feel that wearing bikinis should be banned on the beaches,” he said.
“We should not allow such types of people to enter public places.”
Dhavalikar, a member of the local Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party
which is an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had early
sparked criticism for saying girls going to pubs in short dresses did
not fit in with local culture.
“What will happen to our Goan culture, if we allow this? The
scantily-dressed girls visiting pubs project wrong culture and this
should be stopped,” he said.
Members of the rival Congress party in Goa responded by sending a
pink skirt to Dhavalikar, saying they would not tolerate “moral
policing”.
Goa’s long sandy beaches have been a haven for tourists for decades,
but the state has cracked down on its nightlife over the past few years
after a series of high-profile crimes including the rape and murder of
British teenager Scarlett Keeling in 2008.
The state last year rejected a proposal for India’s first Playboy
club on one of its beaches and announced a ban on dance bars.
Source: AFP.
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