Team Herald
MARGAO: Stating that being a Catholic he cannot tolerate anything against his religion, Trinamool Congress (TMC) Benaulim candidate Churchill Alemao on Monday clarified that he has not done any politics pertaining to the issue of Little Flower Church.
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However he slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for trying to gain political mileage over the issue.
Addressing the media at his Varca office he also appealed to the people of Goa, and more especially people of Benaulim not to get misguide from the rivals who are working hard to defeat him in the elections.
Faridabad Diocese had condemned his attempt, had also stated that the petition coming just ten days before the elections in Goa raises questions about politicising the issue. While on the other hand Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Captain Venzy Veigas had also accused Churchill of politicising the demolition of the Church for petty political reasons.
Churchill said, “The diocese of Faridabad claims that I am politicising the issue. I want to make it crystal clear that it is my responsibility to be the voice for any religion when injustice is meted out. This time, I stand with my Christian brothers and sisters. And this isn’t the first time when I have sided with what is right. Everyone knows how I stood by my Muslim brothers when they were facing a hard time. But to say that I’m playing petty politics based on religion is wrong. I don’t need to do this to gain advantage.”
“I had filed the writ petition in August, 2021, upon the request of a few faithful of Catholic religion of Delhi, and hence there is no intention in filing the petition seeking orders to rebuild the little flower church”, he clarified.
Churchill further said that being a member of Catholic community it is his duty to raise voice against the incidents related to his religion, and no leader of religious institutions had asked him to file the petition.
“Earlier I had raised my voice against the ‘Da Vinci Code’ movie, and it was also at my individual level, as I cannot tolerate anything against my religion. It was me who had intervened after the riots broke out at Curchorem, a few years back,” he said.
