Goa state chief minister ruled out another minister's call for prohibiting wearing of bikinis in beaches on Wednesday stating that the Indian government does not support it.

Manohar Parrikar refers to PWD minister Sudin Dhavalikar's appeal about disallowing women that visit the Goa beach from wearing their bikinis "for their own safety."

Like Us on Facebook

Prior to his statement about bikini ban on Tuesday, Dhavalikar had earlier ignited criticism for saying that girls wearing short dresses in pubs did not fit in with their culture.

"The scantily-dressed girls visiting pubs project wrong culture," he said.

These remarks fueled outrage from women activists, sparking comments about similar misogynistic and victim-blaming attitudes as partly accountable for India's increasing rape and sexual assault statistics.

Aside from this, people from Goa's tourism industry condemn Dhavalikar's comments saying that this type of attitude will drive away tourists from the resort state.

With its long paradise-like beaches, Goa is a popular tourist destination in India. Nightlife in the state has been cracked down over the past years since the occurrence of a series of high-profile crimes like the rape and murder of a British teenager in 2008.

Albertina Almeida, a human rights activist, dubbed the PWD minister's statements to be 'sexist' and considers them as 'false justification' for violence against women, adding that the country does not require "moral policing."

Though the suggested ban on bikinis has been disapproved, Chief Minister Parrikar declares his support for the prohibition of alcohol-drinking in public.

TagsGoa, bikini ban