After Muthalik,Cong’s Gehlot slams ‘pub culture’

A day after public outrage over the attack on girls in a Mangalore pub forced the BJP government in Karnataka to arrest Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik,Rajasthans Congress chief minister Ashok Gehlot,out to reverse some major policy decisions of predecessor Vasundhara Raje,kicked up a storm when he slammed pub culture and said he was against boys and girls walking hand in hand in pubs and malls.

Speaking on a slew of reforms in the states excise policy,including reduction in the number of liquor shops,Gehlot said: We want to put a stop to the previous governments promotion of liquor and are against this activity of boys and girls walking hand in hand in pubs and malls.

With the remarks,beamed on TV,creating ripples all around,Gehlots office tonight issued a statement,saying it had been taken out of context. The CM,according to the statement,was only trying to elucidate the previous BJP governments promotion of liquor in the state which had become a problem. Close to 6,000 liquor-related rapes were registered.