PANJIM: Dr Wilfred Mesquita, the Vice President of the BJP did some refreshing plain-speaking today. Sometime seen as a man caught in a wrong party, the good doctor, told journalists that Goa can’t quite be like ‘God’s own country’, Kerala, which has decided to ban alcohol in a phased manner.
Addressing a press conference, on Friday Dr Mesquita remarked that drinking was a part of Goan culture. He explained, “The law cannot come to Goa. Goans drink at wedding and parties. How can it be banned? It is a part of culture,” He added that it was difficult for the same law to be applicable here.
It will be interesting to see if the PWD minister in the ruling BJP-MGP alliance, Sudin Dhavlikar will say cheers to that. Dhavlikar recently rode the bandwagon against pub culture and according to him other assorted ‘ills’ like wearing bikinis. Mesquita’s take on Goa’s culture, is, well, on a different ‘spirit’. Clearly, the ruling coalition is not quite on the same page or bottle, if you please.
Meanwhile, on another note, the BJP Goa unit questioned how many nefarious outfits had been banned by the Congress Union governments since Independence, as it supported its government’s move to ban Ram Sene’s entry to the state for 60 days.
Dr Mesquita however said that there is no law to permanently ban any such organization. “If there is a law in these states wherein we can ban such organizations, please tell me. Till date there is no such law. Goa government took a preventive measure under Section 144 of CrPC against this gentlemen (referring to Ram Sene Chief Pramod Muthalik),” he said responding to a question.
Speaking to Herald later, Mesquita conceded that the decision on Muthalik is similar to the decision the then Home Minister Ravi Naik had taken to stop his entry to Goa. He further elucidated that under this section, Muthalik cannot enter the state with five or more persons.
He also took a dig at Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik for the latter’s remark that the government order does not have teeth. Mesquita called him an advocate of illegalities.
“When his government (Congress) was at the Centre and Karnataka, why was Muthalik not banned? Ask him what was the former government doing in the last 60 years, how many organizations did it ban?” he questioned. “He (Naik) knows half the law. They (Congress) have failed and are trying to mislead the people. There cannot be a (permanent) ban at the drop of a hat,” he further said in the presence of party president Vinay Tendulkar.
