Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has reiterated the BJP’s commitment to secularism, stating that he has personally held meetings with priests, requesting their support in the upcoming assembly elections. Addressing the issue of religion in politics, Sawant emphasized the importance of keeping religion separate from politics, and urged against using religious divisions for electoral gain.
“Why is there division in Goa? Why is there a fight between religion for politics? Don’t we have MLAs and ministers (from the minority community)? Have we never made them ministers and MLAs? We have not done injustice to anyone. Did we shut down anything? We have not spoken against anything,” he said in an interview with The Times of India.
Sawant’s statement comes in the backdrop of a circular issued by the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Felipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao, calling on all priests and Catholics to vote for secular candidates who uphold the values enshrined in the Constitution. Goa is set to go to the polls on May 7.
The Chief Minister welcomed the Archbishop’s statement and reiterated the BJP’s status as the “most secular party.” He said he had held closed-door meetings with priests and requested them to vote for the party.
Sawant also allayed fears over the sale of Goan land to outsiders and the potential erosion of Goan identity. “Goa has completed 63 years of liberation, and nobody has attacked its identity. No one will conquer Goa. The Portuguese had conquered Goa, and that’s enough,” he said.
He further stated that his government would ensure that no paddy cultivation land is converted for any other purpose, emphasizing the need to preserve agricultural and orchard land to safeguard Goan identity.
Sawant dismissed the opposition’s focus on the three linear projects and the Mhadei issue as mere political tactics. He accused the Congress of politicizing the Mhadei issue, but asserted that his fight for the Mhadei began long before he entered politics.
“I will continue to fight for the Mhadei. To save the Western Ghats, we need the Mhadei. There will be no diversion of the Mhadei,” he said.
