Days after justifying meat ban and even proposing to extend it during Navaratri and saying APJ Abdul Kalam was a nationalist despite being a Muslim, Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma has reportedly made another controversial statement.
Speaking to CNN IBN, Mahesh Sharma said that, "Girls wanting a night out may be all right elsewhere but it is not part of Indian culture". He said that he has nothing against Western culture but Indians shouldn't follow it blindly.
According to him, Westernisation for the sake of modernisation shouldn't be the goal and Indians should be mindful of the social structure prevalent in the country.
Now, Mahesh Sharma has issued a clarification saying his comments were distorted. He tweeted saying:
Earlier, In an interview to India Today TV, Sharma spoke about multiple issues and gave his candid views on them. About the ongoing raging controversy regarding meat ban in some states during the Jain festival of Paryushan, Sharma said he welcomed such restrictions.
Also Read: Modi government, RSS plan to 'cleanse' India of western culture, roadmap to be prepared
He said that, "If the sacrifices of a few help maintain the religious sentiments of a section of society, there is no harm in doing this". Sharma also said that the Centre will decide on extending meat ban to nine days of Navratri festival. He said, "It will be a political decision. We would want that".
The minister said that he is working with the HRD Ministry to incorporate the Ramayana and Mahabharata in schools. But in a controversial statement, Sharma claimed that religious texts like the Bible and the Quran were not central to India's soul.
Making a strong pitch for learning Hindi and Sanskrit, Sharma said that Hindi should be made compulsory in all schools. According to him, putting parents in old age home and having narcotics were examples of western culture. The minister also made a fervent bid to remove the ill-effects of western culture from Indian society.
Also Read: Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma wants meat ban during Navratri
