MARGAO: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said though the Congress used all tricks to vitiate the atmosphere by raising the bogey of communalism in the run up to the polls, people of Goa did not allow any damage to the secular fabric of the state.
Reacting to a query whether he had at any point of time thought that the secular fabric would be affected by the ongoing poll campaign, Parrikar said, “I was worried with the level and quality of Congress campaign. In the last two years, there’s not a single communal incident in the state. You show me a single incident wherein government had acted in a communal manner”.
On the Church circular, Parrikar said the same is very clear that it does not support any political party, adding that the Congress brought the issue up to score political mileage.
Replying to a question, he said there’s no fear amongst the minorities vis-a-vis the BJP any more. “Experience shows that you fear a place when you are new to the place. Today, that fear does not exist to that level where the Congress likes it to exist. The impact of the secular versus communal campaign is minimal. We have presence everywhere today. We talk to the people”, he said.
“No, I don’t think any damage is done to Goa’s secular fabric by the election campaign. The Congress would have even started a riot if they had their way”, he added.
