My statement on girls drinking beer was twisted by media, says Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who made headlines recently for his remarks on girls consuming liquor, claimed on Wednesday that the media twisted his whole statement, while he had only referred to ‘school and college students’.

He indirectly pointed a finger at his cabinet colleague, Vijai Sardesai, saying that politicians needed to be careful while making any comments. Sardesai, earlier, dubbed a section of the domestic tourists visiting Goa as the ‘scum of the Earth’.

But Parrikar later said that Sardesai was not wrong in highlighting the issue but that he made the statement in an incorrect way.

Parrikar said while addressing the State Youth Parliament organised by the State Legislature department, “I have begun to fear now, because even girls have started drinking beer. The tolerance limit is being crossed. I am not talking about everyone. I am not talking about those sitting here.”

He also said, “If someone wants to purposely twist the statement, we cannot help it. It was twisted in such a way that finally the interviewer (the person who had taken the public interview of Parrikar at the event) had to intervene and tweet that I was referring to school and college students.”

Parrikar also said that his comments were not of fear but of worry. “I had said it was my worry, not even fear. Worry is different from fear," he told, adding that "worry is fundamental to every person.”

Also Read: Manohar Parrikar trolled mercilessly over ‘Girls who drink beer’ statement

On a question about Sardesai’s domestic tourists comment, the Chief Minister said, “Sometimes, politician has to be careful while making a statement. But sometimes, if a report is filed by a journalist who was not present at the event, there is a possibility of dilution or modification of the statement.”

He said Sardesai was referring to an incident of a tourist urinating from a bus window, the video of which went viral on the social media.

He said, “He (Sardesai) should not have used very harsh words. I have spoken to him about it. He was not wrong in what he was highlighting. But he interpreted it in a wrong way or rather, he was not able to express it correctly,” adding that the minister later corrected his statements.