PANJIM: In an interesting comment on the functioning of certain institutions of faith, former Congress MLA Agnelo Fernandes said that certain institutions were “vehemently supporting the Congress”. He specifically mentioned the Council for Social Justice and Peace, saying “they will have to introspect”.
Speaking as a panellist on Herald TV’s Point-Counterpoint, Agnelo said, “A lot of people supported Michael Lobo and all these guys who defected. They are known to be defectors. This institution put its weight behind it.”
“Some institutions put their weight behind these people and these politicians took advantage. When I was defeated by him, (Lobo) I called up the priest and told him that he trusted him (Lobo),” he said.
Agnelo said that when Girish was the President, he put out a narrative that one priest from his constituency, sent a fax to Rahul Gandhi saying that if he didn’t give a ticket to a certain person (in a previous election) then the Congress wouldn’t get any support. “When we checked with the priest, he said he never sent anything. Girish was using the Priest for his own gains,” he said.
Reacting to Agnelo’s remark, Giriraj Pai Vernekar, BJP spokesperson said, “I am thankful to Agnel Bab for saying that CSJP is throwing weight behind politicians. This is something we have been saying for a long time. This is the same society, which was sleeping in 2005 when people defected and went to Congress. When it happens to the BJP, we talk about religion being used but when Council for Social Justice and Peace puts weight behind the candidate is not religious meddling. They genuinely believe if Congress is good for them and the reasons are obvious, they should change their name to society for politics.”
