MARGAO: There’s disquiet in Salcete over Cooperation Minister Deepak Dhavalikar’s statement on Hindu Rashtra and Deputy Chief Minister, Francis D’Souza’s statement on Christian Hindu, with the issue echoing in some of the Churches and at village gram sabhas on Sunday.
D’Souza’s Christian Hindu statement came in for strong criticism from the clergy at the Sunday Masses in many a parish. A priest questioned D’souza’s statement at his Sunday sermon, demanding to know what exactly he meant by Christian Hindu. “At Mosul in Iraq, Christians bravely face persecution by Muslim Jihadis and here in Goa, we find a minister talking of Christian Hindu with an eye on votes”, the priest said in his sermon.
Fr Eremito Rebello also slammed the deputy chief minister for his controversial statement. “How can someone call himself a Christian Hindu. One may call himself an Indian Christian, an European Christian or an American Christian. We cannot call ourselves Christian Hindus… the two are contradictory to each other”, Fr Rebello said, adding that if someone is a Hindu, he cannot be a Christian.
On Deepak Dhavalikar’s statement on Hindu Rashtra, Fr Rebello reminded that India is a conglomeration of many religions, languages and cultures. “The founding fathers of the Constitution knew the ground reality and had made India a secular country. Those who say that India will be made a Hindu Rashtra are not aware of the ground reality”, he added.
At the Rachol gram sabha, members strongly objected to the statement made by the Dhavalikar brothers and deputy chief minister over remark of ‘India is Hindu nation’ and the bikini issue. The issue was raised by Liya Gomes who said the statements made by the minister goes against the spirit of Indian Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion in the country. The gram sabha later adopted a resolution condemning the remarks made by cooperation minister and the deputy chief minister.
The issue also figured at the Varca gram sabha as members expressed their resentment over the statements. They told Benaulim MLA Caitu Silva, present at the meeting, to convey their anger to the government.
