Goa Congress chief slams ‘polarizing’ statements by VHP
April 19, 2017 by admin
Filed under India, newsletter-india
Panaji, April 19, 2017: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Luizinho Faleiro on Monday condemned the “disturbing, frightening and polarizing” statements of a senior functionary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Radha Krishna Manori, that the organization will “impose a ban on cow slaughter and eating beef”.
“VHP is an important front of the BJP. What is their hidden agenda? They want to polarize Goa. This is a well-planned and well thought out strategy. The cow is a sacred animal for us Indians and Goans and many are ignorant of the fact that cow slaughter is banned under the Goa Daman and Diu Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act 1978. It’s a sacred animal but doesn’t mean you can appoint an extra constitutional authority to overrule the government of the day and law of land and make statements,” Faleiro said, adding that BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had earlier called for a change in Goa’s beef eating habits.
Faleiro said the party is trying to polarize people on communal lines. “Talibanization in Goa and India should be stopped,” he said.
“These statements only help black marketers increase beef prices in Goa, which are already 200% more than Maharashtra and Karnataka. Officially, BJP party functionaries are minting money at the cost of the people,” he said.
Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Monday also condemned Manori’s statements. “Cow slaughter is not an issue of religion or faith of any community. What one eats is a matter of his choice. As long as the rules in so far as the slaughter of animals are adhered to, there should not be any issue. The problem is cow vigilantes have taken over the responsibility of law enforcement. This has made beef beyond the reach of the common man and this had led to beef being transported from other states to Goa,” Lourenco said, speaking to reporters.
He added that the “entire tirade against beef is basically a tirade against the Muslim and Catholic community. We will fight against this within the legal framework”.
– times of india