Indian officials on Monday said that a proposal for India’s first Playboy club in the holiday state of Goa and on one of its beaches was rejected following complaints that it would promote prostitution.
The proposal was reportedly rejected due technicality issues despite a local lawmaker threatened to go on hunger strike last week.
Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, told a state assembly session in state capital Panaji that Playboy’s application had failed because it did not meet requirements to set up a beach shack.
Parrikar quoted by Times of India said, “I am assuring the house that Playboy club will not be allowed as a shack. We give permissions only to individuals and not to global chains,” Parrikar said.
PB Lifestyle, the Indian franchisee of the Playboy brand, announced plans in November to open 120 clubs, hotels, fashion cafes and shops in India over the next 10 years.
It is not clear whether the club will be allowed permission to function as a conventional city club, rather than as a beach shack.
In the meantime reports suggest that the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Goa had rejected the proposal after misgivings in the party.
BJP legislator Michael Lobo reportedly alleged that the Playboy club would promote “vulgarity” and threatened to go on a hunger strike if it opened.
Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar was quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency as saying that there had been a lot of debate on “the promotion of vulgarity” if the Playboy Club were set up.
