Team Herald
PANJIM: Seeking financial details of the churches in Goa is unconstitutional, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said on Monday.
Addressing the media, State Party chief Jose Philip D’Souza said it is wrong on the part of the I-T department to issue notices to churches asking them to declare their finances. He said the drive will go on to masjids and temples in the future.
“It is unconstitutional and very bad that I-T department wants finances of religious institutes like churches,” D’Souza said. He alleged that lakhs and crores of rupees have been spent by the BJP in Goa on various conventions and melavas which need to be investigated by the I-T department.
He said that thousands of people gather for the meetings, and are provided with transport and food. “Where is the money coming from?’ he asked. “If it was done by any other party an inquiry would have been initiated by the State government,” D’Souza said.
Former minister Churchill Alemao, who recently joined NCP, said BJP is playing communal politics. “There were 70-80 temples burgled and damaged during the last Congress government tenure when I was in the cabinet, I feel BJP was doing it,” Alemao said.
He questioned why there are no cases of temples being damaged or burgled after BJP coming to power? He alleged that the temples were attacked at that time for the party to come to power in Goa.
NCP challenged the government to go cashless without affecting the common people. Alemao said that demonetisation has adversely affected the poor and the cashless system will affect small time traders.
