Shreyas H S
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Jul 31: Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik has said that he was determined to open a branch of the outfit in Goa, and that nothing would stop him from doing so. He was reacting to Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar's statement in the Goa Assembly on Wednesday July 30 that he would not allow the radical righ wing group to function in the state.
Speaking to daijiworld over the phone, Muthalik said, "Sri Rama Sene is legally operating in 11 states and nothing would deter us from launching our branch in Goa in September.
Muthalik hit out at the Goa government and alleged that the decision announced in the Goa Legislative Assembly was due to pressure from 'drug and sex mafia on the chief minister and the government'.
"Much of Goa state's revenue is generated from liquor, drugs and sex, and this has made the state to disallow the Sene. The mafia is scared that it would face crackdown by the Sri Rama Sene in Goa, a place popularly known for pub culture. But like others, the Sene is also entitled to freedom of speech, which if banned in Goa, would amount to breach of law," he argued.
"Had the government not succumbed to the mafia clout, the state would have allowed the Sri Rama Sene to work," he added.
"The Sene has been functioning across the country in 11 states, most actively in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh and Maharashtra. We have not flouted the laws in these states to carry out out work. Goa is no exception for the law of the land, and therefore it cannot curb the Sene's right to function," he contended.
He questioned the legality of the government's decision, asking on what grounds the Sene could not be allowed to function in Goa.
Affirming that Sene will go operational from the month of September in Goa, Muthalik claimed that the Sene, within the boundaries of law, would do everything to protect the culture of the nation that has been declining in the state of Goa. "The aim is to free Goa from illegal activities," said Muthalik.