Goa Congress to ask Karnataka to ban Sri Ram Sene

Panaji, March 27 (IANS) The Congress in Goa Thursday said it will ask its party's government in neighbouring Karnataka to ban the Sri Ram Sene for its opposition to "secular" culture.

Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said the threat by Sene promoter Pramod Muthalik to close down pubs and night spots in Goa would affect tourism and that banning the group once and for all would stop it from spreading.

"We are asking our Congress government in Karnataka to ban the Sri Ram Sene. They have openly claimed that they would close down pubs and restaurants in coastal Goa. This would cripple our tourism. It's best to shut down the Sene in Karnataka itself, where it started under the BJP rule," Kamat said.

Goa is known for beach tourism and late night party hotspots.

The Sri Ram Sene is best known for its moral police styled attack on a pub in Mangalore, where they beat up young men and women for following Western culture.

Muthalik recently hit the news after he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but his entry was thwarted by the party after some senior leaders including Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar allegedly protested.

Muthalik has now threatened the Goa government that he would start units of the Sri Ram Sene in Goa after the Lok Sabha polls.