Karnataka BJP leaders toe Yeddyurappa's line on 'pub culture'

Bangalore: The daughter might have differed with her father, but Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa's party colleagues seem to toe his line as far as disallowing "pub culture" in the state is concerned.

The chief minister had Wednesday told media that he won't "allow" pub culture to flourish in Karnataka even though he termed the attack on women at a Mangalore pub "unfortunate". But one of his daughters, Umadevi, disagreed with her father views.

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In an interview with a leading national English daily Wednesday, Umadevi (37), the founder of Candor Business Solutions Pvt Ltd, a BPO based in Bangalore, opposed Yeddyurappa's views and said: "It's for women to decide if they would like to visit pubs or any other public place, and the government, politicians or outfits like Sri Rama Sene cannot restrict their movements."

As the father-daughter differences turned into a controversy, top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in the state followed the chief minister's view on the issue.

State Home Minister V.S. Acharya told IANS that pub culture increases crime and violence and needs to have restrictions.

"There should be some amount of control on the pubs by the government to avoid any untoward incident. The chief minister is right in his view," said Acharya.

BJP state chief D.V. Sadanand Gowda said: "Our party is in favour of curbing pub culture as it makes intoxication fashionable leading to many incidents of misbehaviour. Pub culture should be tackled in an appropriate way, as the youth of today just don't see the damage they are doing to themselves and the society."

Senior BJP leader and MP Ananth Kumar preferred not to make any statement on the matter.

"There is nothing to say on the issue. We have several other work to deal with," said Kumar.

Sources at the chief minister's office told IANS that Umadevi had been misquoted by the newspaper. Umadevi, however, remained unavailable for comment Friday to clarify her view.

Yeddyurappa's remark on 'pub culture' came close on the heels of a national outrage against the BJP government for showing leniency in taking action against members of Sri Rama Sene, a self-styled moral group who attacked a group of young women in a pub in Mangalore Saturday.

Reacting to the chief minister's comment on disallowing pub culture in Bangalore, Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said that Yeddyurappa's view was totally retrograde.

"Bangalore has a healthy pub culture and going to a pub is not a crime. Moreover, pubs like restaurants are also safe for their visitors. Curtailment on visiting pubs is denying a person his or her basic right. The government should rather end corruption, the greatest vice of the society, instead of stopping people from going to pubs," she said.
Source: IANS