MARGAO: Fisheries Minister Avertano Furtado has become the first Minister in the Parrikar government to publicly disagree with Cooperation Minister Deepak Dhavalikar on his statement that India should be a Hindu nation.
In fact, the Fisheries Minister has made it clear that he does not agree with the views expressed by his cabinet colleague from the MGP.
Making his stand clear on the controversy for the first time, the Navelim MLA reminded that India is a secular, democratic and socialist republic wherein freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution. “Deepak Dhavlikar has voiced his personal opinion which does not mean all should agree with him. As far as I am concerned, I do not agree with his statement”, he said, while asserting that people of different religions live in communal harmony in the country.
In the past, the Fisheries Minister had come out openly against PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar for his comments on pub culture and women clad in bikinis.
The Fisheries Minister, however, has not made known his stand on Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s statement virtually equating Gujarat-based Priest Fr Cedric Prakash and Ram Sene Chief Pramod Muthalik. The Chief Minister had last week told the House that his government would not allow people like Muthalik and Fr Cedric Prakash to vitiate the peace and communal amity in the state.
