BJP MLA suggests that male tourists should use proper swimwear and not worn out undergarment
Panaji : Male tourists should be barred from wearing cotton briefs or torn underwear on beaches and instead wear proper swimming trunks to avoid vulgarity and promote safe swimming, the BJP MLA from the coastal constituency of Calangute has said.
“Many male tourists are seen sporting dirty worn out underwear….Proper swimwear is available at all shops along the beach stretch,” Michael Lobo said. “Let there be cops on the beaches fining these errant tourists until they learn some discipline,” he added.
Lobo said that wearing swim-wear on beaches is compulsory in countries like Singapore, Dubai and Malaysia and that it should be made mandatory in Goa.
“Goa should raise its standards. These cheap tourists are of no benefit to the state. They don’t stay in hotels, they cook their own food, they sleep on the beach. They buy only booze in Goa, that too because it is cheaper here. If people are made to follow the law elsewhere, they should follow it here too.
Last month, politicians from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) alliance triggered controversy by seeking a ban on bikinis in Goa, claiming it was vulgar and against “Indian culture”, with one legislator even suggesting creating a special ‘bikini beach’ with paid entry.
Sometime back, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Lavu Mamledar had said that the two-piece swimwear is against Indian culture and a threat to the country’s chances of becoming a superpower.
Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country and its beaches attract over three million tourists annually.
Earlier in August also, Goa public works department minister Sudin Dhavalikar had insisted that bikinis should be banned in the state’s public beaches.
While the minister was criticized by media and the opposition as well as prominent civil society representatives, chief minister Manohar Parrikar had maintained that he had heard Dhavalikar in private and that he found nothing objectionable in his comments.
Dhavalikar’s brother Deepak Dhavalikar had also courted controversy by insisting in the state assembly that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had the potential to make India a ‘Hindu nation’.
