Sack Goa minister, says Congress; no dress ban, says another min

Panaji: As the Congress called for expelling Goa’s PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar who demanded a ban on women wearing mini-skirts to night clubs and bikinis to beaches, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar Wednesday said these dresses cannot be banned. Parulekar was responding to questions on the controversy triggered by his cabinet colleague.
“We cannot ban mini-skirts and bikinis in night clubs and beaches. It is not possible,” Parulekar said on the sidelines of a tourism event in Panaji.
In a statement issued here earlier in the day, Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said: “We demand his (Dhavalikar’s) expulsion from the cabinet. Sudin Dhavalikar should have better concentrated on water problems in the state rather than doing moral policing and advocating what women should wear.”
Dhavalikar is a member of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), which is a partner in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government in the state.
Kamat said the BJP should have censured Dhavalikar for his remarks.
“BJP can’t get away by saying Dhavalikar’s remarks are his personal,” Kamat said. Dhavalikar, during an interaction with reporters, said Friday: “Young girls wearing short skirts in nightclubs are a threat to the Goan culture. This habit of young girls wearing short dresses everywhere does not fit the Goan culture.”
He also advised that women should stop drinking too. The comments made Friday were reported Monday. (IANS)