Amidst many attempts in the past by governments to bring an end to dress code in private clubs, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that discrimination based on dress by clubs was not good.
“There are several restrictions in private clubs. It is not right to discriminate based on dress code that was in the British era,” he said, after inaugurating the Karnataka Legislature Institute on Balabrooie Guest House premises here.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said: “Several years ago, I was denied entry into a club because I was wearing panche. I do not remember which club it was. I was accompanying B.R. Patil, Kodandaramaiah, and Ugrappa for lunch. However, they did not let me enter.” He said: “I decided we should have our own club. Today, I am wearing panche and inaugurating the institute.”
He said that a separate club for former legislators, Ministers, Speakers, and Chairpersons has been a two-decade-old demand, and that there was opposition since Balabrooie was a heritage building. “I felt that the heritage building would not come in the way of creating a club on the lines of the Constitution Club. It is closer to the Vidhana Soudha and the Legislators’ Home.”
