Panaji, June 8 (IANS) The Congress in Goa on Monday sought the dismissal of state Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar for making “insensitive” comments on a gang-rape case.
“His outrageous statement of calling gang-rape accused ‘naive’ only shows that the minister considers crime against women as a petty thing,” Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Parulekar courted controversy by terming the gang-rape of two women by five men a “stunt” and saying that such “minor things” were bound to happen in tourism state like Goa.
“Wherever tourism activity flourishes, such minor incidents happen,” Parulekar said, adding: “These boys are ‘nadaan’ (naive) and they have cases registered against them for small crimes. This will not happen in future.”
Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Sunday rapped Parulekar for his controversial comments.
“We only want to say that as a tourism-driven economy, our mantra should be ‘Atithi devo bhavaa’ (guest is god). We need to treat our guests as gods. However, the minister’s statements clearly show that he does not know this,” the Congress party’s letter to Modi said.