From ban on naked sages to cure for homosexuals: 5 outrageous things Goa ministers have said

Goa minister for factories and boilers Deepak Dhavalikar believes that his wife would never get harassed because she wears sarees. Ironically, this gaffe while he was trying to defend his wife’s comments at a school speech in Madgaon,where she said that rapes are on the rise because women are aping Western culture. “In the past, rape cases were less because they (women) adhered by Hindu dharma and now such cases are on the rise because of the western style of living,” said Dhavalikar, in this NDTV report. He also backed his wife’s claims by saying that she had lived “her entire life wearing kumkum and sarees” and was never a victim of eve-teasing. But Dhavalikar’s comments are like a drop in the ocean of outrageous comments made by ministers in Goa. From sexist comments on skin colour, to constructing centres to “cure” homosexuals, here is a list of some of the things Goa ministers have said in the recent past: Ban on naked sages: Goa PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, brother of Deepak Dhavalikar, sought to ban sages who walk naked on the road. In this India Today report, he said that it was not in sync with current times. “It is very bad. It should not happen. Those times were different. We are near 2021 now,” Sudin said, after former chief minister of Goa Digambar Kamat’s photos with a naked Jain sage went viral on Facebook. [caption id=“attachment_2189387” align=“alignnone” width=“500”]  Almost naked saints. Reuters.[/caption] Protesting in the sun will darken skin and hurt marital prospects: Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar had allegedly “advised” nurses going on a hunger strike regarding low number of ambulances that they should not protest in the sun, if they don’t want to affect marriage prospects. According to this Hindustan Times report, Anusha Sawant, one of the protesting nurses, said, “When we met the chief minister over our demands at Ponda (on Tuesday), he said the girls should not sit on hunger strike in hot sun as their complexion will become dark and they will not find a good bridegroom.” However, the chief minister said that he had ever made such a statement. [caption id=“attachment_2189393” align=“alignnone” width=“500”]  Youtube grab of Fair and Lovely ad.[/caption] Plan centres to make homosexuals normal: In an attempt to make homosexuals “normal”, minister Ramesh Tawadkar said that the Goa government is planning centres for the LGBT. “We will make LGBT (Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) youth normal. We will have a centre for them…like Alcoholics Anonymous centres. We will train them and give them medicines too,” Tawadkar said. [caption id=“attachment_2189397” align=“alignnone” width=“500”]  Gay pride. Reuters.[/caption] Wear tradition attire like dhotis to be part of world greatest culture**:** Apart from naked sages, Sudin Dhavalikar also wants people to start wearing traditional clothes like the dhoti immediately. According to this HT report, his comments come after BJP legislator Vishnu Wagh wore a dhoti to a legislative assembly. [caption id=“attachment_2189405” align=“alignnone” width=“500”]  Indian man trying to wear a dhoti. Reuters.[/caption] Ban mini skirts and bikinis: Deepak Dhavalikar had earlier wanted to ban mini skirts and bikinis altogether in the state. He said, “this habit of young girls wearing short dresses everywhere does not fit the Goan culture. We should not allow this. It should be stopped.” [caption id=“attachment_2189409” align=“alignnone” width=“500”]  Image by Reuters.[/caption] Disabled people are God’s mistake: Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar said people are born with disabilities due to mistakes and negligence on God’s part. In this TOI report, he also said NGOs who work with the disabled are doing what God could not do. “There are some brothers and sisters in the society, who are born with certain disabilities. God forgets to give them certain things. That is negligence on the part of God and for that the child has to suffer for entire life,” Parsekar said. [caption id=“attachment_2189413” align=“alignnone” width=“500”]  Image by Reuters.[/caption]