New Delhi: Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma stoked controversy when he said that girls wanting a night out is not acceptable in Indian culture.
"Girls wanting a night out may be all right elsewhere but it is not part of Indian culture," Sharma said.
Sharma said that the country does not want westernisation in the name of modernisation.
He further said that brothers and sisters of the same age, as part of the Indian culture and traditions, are supposed to sleep in separate rooms.
"I am not criticising the west. But I am not willing to follow the west blindly. I am willing to take all good things of west," he said.
On his long association with RSS, the Union Minister said, "Has there been any act of RSS against national interest? Then why criticize RSS? What is wrong in discussing national policy with RSS?"
Sharma also backed the beef ban saying 'even Quran does not allow cow slaughter'.
"Why is it wrong to ban meat for a few days if I want to respect some community? Don't we have bans during navratras, don't we have certain bans during Roza-Iftaaris? So what is wrong in respecting sentiments of a particular community? It is a small sacrifice for just two days," he said.
Sharma recently was in the news for his controversial remark on former president APJ Abdul Kalam. He had said that Kalam was a great nationalist despite being a Muslim.
