PANJIM: The PWD Minister Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar on Tuesday came out strongly in favour of convent schools and convent education in strategic contravention to statements made by his brother and fellow cabinet minister Pandurang Deepak Dhavalikar and his wife Lata.
“We are supporting convent schools,” he told journalists, who questioned him over reports over statements made by his sister-in-law and backed by her husband.
He said that he was not in the State having landed only on Tuesday and only had time to say hello to his brother in the morning. (Incidentally his sister-in-law has objected to using hello as a form of greeting, even at the start of telephone conversations and prefers – nay demands – ‘namaste’, to be the rudimentary greeting.
“I was in Cyprus. Some family emergency,” he said even as he stoutly denied that his bhabi would make such statements. He also criticized the story that appeared in a local daily saying that it was incorrect and the headline did into reflect what the story had said. “News which has come is not like that. News which has come lower down is not what is said in the headline,” he said, adding, ‘She never said anything about boycotting schools.’
However, the press communiqué of the Hindu Janjagruti Manch, a rabid right wing forum, quoted Deepak Dhavalikar’s wife of stating exactly what was mentioned in the news report.
It may be recalled that Lata was quoted as saying parents should not to send their children to convent schools even and that western culture has led to rise in incidents of rape. Lata, is reportedly a functionary of right wing organization Sanatan Saunstha.
The news report quotes her as saying that Hindu men, while leaving from home, should sport a tilak, while women, should wear kumkum. She had advocated that Gudi Padwa the Hindu New Year, should be seen as the beginning of the year and not January 1. And then of course was the most controversial of Lata Dhavalikar’s comment of not sending your children to convent school and saying ‘namaskar’ instead of ‘hello’ when answering a phone call.
According to her incidents of rape are on the rise, largely owing to the fact that women have adopted western culture. Her husband and minister, Deepak Dhavalikar was then quoted as saying that rapes are on the rise as the way people dress today, fuels incidents of rape.
The minister, while defending his wife made further provocative remarks when he said that when girls used to follow Hindu culture, there were no instances of rape. Now, people have changed the way they behave and dress leading to a rise in the number of rapes.
