Team Herald
PANJIM: Congress has taken offence to Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai “equating” Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to Jesus during a discussion in the just-concluded Legislative Assembly session on the completion of the third Mandovi Bridge ‘Atal Setu.’
“We politicians should bring religious values to the House of democracy but not religion itself, as it will create communal discord. In a desperate attempt of political sycophancy, Sardesai compared Parrikar to Jesus which has completely shocked us,” the party’s chief spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said, addressing the media on Friday.
“It seems that along with BJP, even the Goa Forward is dazzled with cosmetic glitter of the bridge so much so that they have completely been ignorant towards the actual issues and challenges faced by Goans,” he added, as Adv Rohit Bras De Sa, who was also present at the briefing, nodded in agreement.
Kawthankar and De Sa pointed out to the government’s decision of cancelling the Good Friday Holiday. Calling the comparison between Jesus and Parrikar an unfortunate episode, the party has demanded an apology from the Minister. “It has caused insult and hurt the religious sentiments of Christians and Goans. We therefore strongly condemn this act of the TCP Minister and demand an apology from him to the Christians and Goans,” he demanded.
Sardesai participating in the congratulatory motion on Thursday, the final day of the session, had quoted Bible saying that ‘man should build bridges, not walls’.
