Panaji, April 6 (IANS): The Congress came down heavily on Monday over comments made by the wife of a cabinet minister in Goa, who has claimed that the Western culture causes rape and implored Hindus not to send their children to convents.

The comments were made by Lata Dhavalikar, wife of Minister for Factories and Boilers Deepak Dhavalikar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, which is a part of the alliance government headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

On Sunday, Lata Dhavalikar spoke at a religious meeting in Margao, 35 km from Panaji.

"This is a clear attempt to divide the state and country on religious lines. Linking rape to the Western culture and exhorting parents against sending their wards to convent schools reveals a sick mentality," Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said in a statement issued here.

On Monday, media reports quoted Dhavalikar, a member of the right wing Hindu organisation Sanatan Sanstha, as saying: "Incidents of rape are on rise, largely owing to the fact that women have adopted the western culture."

"It's time we took pride in our rich ancient Indian culture. Now, it has become trendy among Indian women not to wear the kumkum on their forehead, wearing tight and revealing clothes, trimming hair and making weird hairdo...," she said.

The minister's wife, implored the audience at the function organised by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, to say 'Namaskar' instead of 'Hello' while answering a telephone call and asked men to sport tilaks and women to wear bindis when they step out of their homes.

Kamat said: "We are deeply pained at this remark made in Goa, where Christians account for more than 26 percent of the state's population. The BJP and Modi have failed to check communal outbursts by its own leaders, which now appears to have inspired others to imitate them."