Goa Minister defends use of 'bouncers' at official meeting

A Goa Minister on Friday defended using "bouncers" at a state government meeting instead of police, saying they were "healthy Goans", who just happened to be wearing jeans and black shirts.

Responding to a series of questions from mediapersons at the state Secretariat about hiring bouncers instead of using the police, Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai said if he rolled up his sleeves and flexed his muscles, he would also look like a bouncer.

"The problem is this. If you have jaundice, you will see the world with a yellow tint...so, it is how you look at it. Now if you see a good, healthy Goan and you think he is a bouncer, it's your problem. We are a young political party and in this young party, there are many youngsters who work out," Sardesai said.

Photos of the bouncers guarding the office of the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) during a meeting on Thursday went viral in social media resulting in widespread criticism.

Sardesai also said that using the "bouncer" slur was unfair and there was no question of intimidating anyone.

"What is a bouncer? Don't I look like a bouncer? Should I roll up (his sleeves) and show you, how it looks? If they were healthy, you are calling them bouncers? It is an insult. A healthy person can also be a Minister, no?" Sardesai queried.

He claimed that Goa was suffering from the culture of "perpetual antagonism", where people oppose for the sake of opposing.

--IANS

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