Team Herald
MARGAO: Chicalim Parish Priest Fr Bolmax Pereira, has criticised Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for equating his case with that of Subhash Velingkar, emphasizing that the two incidents are entirely different. Fr Bolmax accused the CM of misleading the public with his statements, saying, “Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is manipulating this whole issue of religious sentiments and punishments. Now that he has dragged my name, I want to put forth the truth before the people of Goa about what was the so-called action meted out to me.”
Fr Bolmax clarified that he was never arrested nor was an arrest warrant issued against him. “I was granted anticipatory bail by the court in case of arrest, but there was no ground for it, and the police never detained me,” he said.
He further explained that the false FIR lodged against him at Vasco Police Station had been quashed by the High Court on April 12. “This ruling upheld my freedom of speech, which does not invite any criminal action against me,” he added.
Fr Bolmax also questioned the CM’s comparison between his case and that of Velingkar, urging him to be clear about the facts. “Let the CM come clean on what action he has taken against those who genuinely attempted to create communal discord, instead of equating my matter with Velingkar’s,” he stated.
Sawant had previously said that Velingkar would face the same action as was taken against Fr Bolmax. However, Fr Bolmax insists that Velingkar’s case involves incitement to communal disharmony, which is not comparable to his situation.