Goa government department withdraws dress code order

The Goa government's art and culture department claimed its standing order banning its employees from wearing sleeveless clothes and jeans, which had triggered a controversy locally as well as nationally, was "misinterpreted".

In a fresh order issued on Friday, with reworded instructions, director for art and culture Prasad Lolayekar has now directed all employees to wear semi-formal, formal or smart casuals to work instead.

"Instructions were given to employees of this Directorate vide above office notes to wear formal dress during office hours and official functions of this Directorate to maintain proper decorum. However, said office notes are misinterpreted. In fact said office notes are not worded/drafted properly and leave scope for misinterpretation," Lolayekar said in his latest order, a copy of which is available with IANS.

The previous order issued by the same official, instructing department officials to not wear "jeans, corduroys, T-shirts, trousers with multiple pockets, sleeveless dresses" came last year, but triggered a controversy once it was tabled during the budget session of the state legislative assembly on March 24.

"It is once against instructed that employees shall wear only formal dress and not wear jeans, corduroys T-shirts, trousers with multiple pockets, sleeveless dresses, etc during office hours and official functions of the Directorate," the previous order had said.

The fresh directive issued on Friday, while withdrawing the previous order, also says: "All the employees are now hereby informed that they shall wear semi-formal or formal dress or smart casuals at officials functions of this department as well as in the office to maintain proper decorum of the office."

A few weeks back, several cabinet ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led coalition government had demanded a ban on revealing clothing in Goa, claiming such dresses were against Indian culture.