TEAM HERALD/PTI
MARGAO/PANJIM: Wednesday was Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s turn to court controversy. The chief minister’s statements that some people are born with disabilities due to a “mistake” and “negligence” committed by God drew strong condemnation from the Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG).
Speaking at the launch of the We Care film festival at the Chowgule College, Margao, Parsekar said, “God has given us hands, legs and other parts of the body to lead a normal life. But, God has forgotten to give these parts of the body to many children. This negligence on the part of God has made many a child to suffer throughout his life.”
Complimenting NGOs for taking up the cause of the special children, the Chief Minister said, “Therefore, NGOs like Disability Rights Association of Goa have come into existence. The thing which God could not do, they are doing. They are rectifying the mistake committed by God. I would say NGOs’ work is more than that of God.”
DRAG, however, condemned the chief minister’s remarks, stating that the disabled were born to show the power of God.
“DRAG strongly objects to this statement and clarified that if God has created a person disabled it is to show people the power of God. Disabled people have more strength and will power and they are differently-abled, hence they are stronger than the normal people,” DRAG chief Avelino D’Sa said in a statement.
Later speaking to Herald Parsekar said, “Why should I reply? I had just said that at times God also makes mistakes and there are people in this world to correct it.”
Speaking further, the Chief Minister said that the government has come out with many programmes for special children. “In Goa, we have 25 educational institutions working to take care of special children. We have to change our attitude towards the special children to raise their level of confidence. They indeed need special attention,” he said.
Saying the government is giving financial assistance to the 25 institutions, besides providing Braille library facilities and grants to physiotherapy centres, hearing aids and wheel chairs, he said that the government and the NGOs still need to cover around 14,000 special children in the State.
Parsekar’s comments came a week after his cabinet colleague Ramesh Tawadkar had said that the State would set up centres to make LGBT people “normal”. The minister had retracted his statement after widespread criticism.
