India: PM Narendra Modi Will Develop India into a 'Hindu Nation'

Soon after his minister brother sparked controversy by calling for a ban on women wearing bikinis on the beaches of internationally renowned tourist resort, Goa, Minister Dipak Dhavalikar has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will develop India into a Hindu nation.

"I am confident that under the leadership of Modiji, India will develop into a Hindu nation. Prime Minister will work in this regard is what I feel," said Dhavalikar while speaking in a state assembly congratulating Prime Minister Modi on his political party, BJP's, electoral victory, reported NDTV News.

Earlier this month, Sudin Dhavalikar, brother of Dipak Dhavalikar, made headlines when he demanded no bikinis, no short skirts and no pubs in Goa.

"For their own safety, women should not wear bikinis on public beaches," said Dhavalikar, 57, a member of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak party, an ally of India's ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP).

"Pub culture is not Indian culture and we don't want Western culture. Young people go drinking and it often leads to law and order problems. Our sisters and daughters are getting spoilt. Goa was a city of temples and churches. We don't want pub-tourism," he told NDTV.

Modi is a Hindu Nationalist and a controversial figure both within India as well as internationally His period as chief minister of Gujarat was marred by events surrounding the 2002 Gujarat riots, when hundreds of Muslims were slaughtered by Hindu mobs.

India's 177m Muslims regard his election as the nation's Prime Minister with trepidation fearing he will stoke inter-communal tensions.