The Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) believes that if the government-in which it is an alliance partner-cracks down on ‘dance bars’ and ‘massage parlours’ in Goa it will be able to stop “anti-social elements” like Shri Ram Sena from entering the state to do the same. Speaking to TOI on Tuesday, MGP senior leader and PWD minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar said, “We don’t want the Shri Ram Sena in Goa to close down ‘dance bars’ and ‘massage parlours’ when the government is capable of stopping these businesses on its own. We (government) should stop the ‘dance bars’ and ‘massage parlours’ so that organizations like Shri Ram Sena have no business to come to Goa.”
The controversy was sparked of at the recently-concluded all-India Hindu convention at Ramnathi where Sena chief Pramod Muthalik announced plans to set up a Goa unit “to curb the western culture of night clubs and pubs”. Reacting to this plan, chief minister Manohar Parrikar had warned against fundamentalist elements taking the law into their own hands in Goa, saying the government would come down heavily on such elements. Immediately after the warning, Muthalik had said his organization would work within the framework of the law and would keep a watch on illegal activities such as drugs, prostitution in night clubs, etc. He had said his outfit would draw the attention of the local police and administration to the same.
Muthalik’s plans evoked a barrage of protests from various sections of society, including an online group ‘We don’t need Ram Sene in Goa..!!’. Infamous for its 2009 attack on youngsters at a club in Mangalore, Muthalik was banned by the then Congress government from entering Goa.
Courtesy: TOI
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