Planning to hit Goa for a weekend escapade on the golden beaches, soaking in the sun and the scenery with a beer or two? Or maybe a night out with friends at one of the legendary party-it-up places?
You may have earned the ire of state chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, who on Tuesday launched a tirade against people holding “misconceptions” against the state, PTI reported.
At an event in Panaji, the chief minister said the idea that people in Goa frequently used drugs or that women were skimpily dressed were wrong, and propagated by tourists.
“The tourists who come here watch another fellow tourist and return with misconception. You will not find Goans drunk on the roads or any local girl in bikini,” he said at a meeting of PTI employees in Panaji.
He said the people in “exceptional dress” or “short dresses” were foreigners or tourists.
He also reacted sharply to a recent statement by Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal that Goa was the easiest place to get drugs, and said growing narcotics use was a cause for concern.
“But the problem is that the image of Goa is projected in different angles by people. There are people existing in this country who are under the impression that Goans start drinking liquor early in the morning and continue till going to bed,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“But the problem is that the image of Goa is projected in different angles by people. There are people existing in this country who are under the impression that Goans start drinking liquor early in the morning and continue till going to bed,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“There is another misconception that ladies use most limited clothes in the state and that on the beaches they are without clothes,” Parsekar said.
“I am ready to host him (Badal) in Goa. Ask him to take his own time to go around and create the actual impression about the state. The picture of Goa is different and not what Badal thinks.”
(with PTI inputs)