Furore over Cong calling Church
anti-national
Sandesh Prabhudesai
4 May 2002
Goa's Church apparently means it when it
appeals to the people to reject 'dirty' politicians like
communals and defectors.
However, more than the allegedly communal
Bharatiya Janata Party, the pro-Christian Congress is facing
the music of it, as it has a 'rich treasure' of defectors.
In an attempt to counter the Church attack,
the Christian community in Goa is now up in arms, demanding
apology from a senior Congress leader to apologise for allegedly
calling the Church communal and anti-national.
According to Gregethy Barreto, president
of the Curtorim Citizens Action Committee, Congress observer
Pradyut Guha called names to the Church, when a delegation
went to him, demanding that former chief minister Francisco
Sardinha be denied Congress ticket.
Sardinha, the Curtorim MLA for four terms
since 1979, had revolted against Luizinho Faleiro's Congress
government within five months - in October 1999 - to form
a coalition government with the then opposition BJP.
After their 11-month old honeymoon ended,
the Congress gracefully readmitted Sardinha along with few
other defectors, obviously to 'strengthen' the party with
habitual defectors.
"They were not parishioners, but were provoked
and sent by the BJP", claimed Guha, while denying the allegation
that he had called the Church communal and anti-national.
The parishioners however later even staged
one-day dharna, demanding apology from Guha. Not a single
Congress leader however has reacted to it so far.
BJP's chief minister Manohar Parrikar was
however wise enough to fish in the troubled waters. Claiming
that his party had no base in the Christian-dominated Curtorim,
he said that Goa's Church is the real swadeshi Church and
persons like Guha are against the interest of Goa.
"Either he should leave Goa or Congress
leader Faleiro should immediately throw him out", said Parrikar.
While welcoming the Church appeal, he even claims that it
is targeted against the Congress since they consist of the
real communal elements.
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