Naked Russians corrupt minds: Goa Congress MP

PANAJI - Russian tourists in Morjim, a beach village in north Goa, move around naked on the beach or are scantily clad, Congress MP Shantaram Naik said Sunday after touring the area popular with Russians.

Naik, who went to the village Saturday with state law commission chairman Ramakant Khalap and Congress leaders, said that such bohemianism “besides corrupting minds of locals left a horrifying impression on children”.

“The state government has consciously taken a decision not to prescribe any dress code but during my Morjim tour I was told that some Russians move totally naked,” Naik has said in a statement.

Naik said he received several complaints that Russians abused the locals on some pretext or the other.

“Russians are plying motorcycle taxis depriving local pilots of their livelihood, besides violating FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) and Motor Vehicles Act,” Naik said.

Naik also said that several Russians were operating restaurants and other eateries originally licensed to locals.

“In such cases the concerned Russian or foreign national should be deemed to be doing business in violation of FEMA,” Naik said.

A Russian allegedly murdered an Indian taxi driver this month in Morjim, 25 km from here. Morjim plays host to a large chunk of the 40,000 Russian tourists annually.

Goa, a popular tourism destination, is visited annually by more than two million tourists, nearly 500,000 of whom are foreigners.