Church has Goa at 'cross'-roads

HOLY VOTE: Church has asked Goans not to vote for "communal or corrupt" people.

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Keywords: Church, Assembly Elections

Panaji: With just four days to go for the Goa elections, the influential Church leaders have given out a confusing signal on whom to vote for. They have advised the nearly 27 per cent Christian population to not vote for the “corrupt or communal” candidates.

“The Church at this juncture will look at the issue that government should govern and not divide the people on the basis of religion or work for selfish interest and fool people,” says Father Mevrick Fernandes of Forum for Social Justice and Peace, Goa Church.

The message makes it a matter of limited choice for the voters. After all, if one sifts either communal or corrupt or both from the available candidates, a fractured House is the most likely scenario and such a situation is open invitation to horse-trading in Goa.

This is not the first time that the Church has openly opposed the Congress-led government. They also came out strongly against the controversial Regional Plan 2011.

Now, it has also asked the people to reject the BJP's brand of politics.

Dr Oscar Rebello, Convenor of Goa Bachao Abhiyan that fought the Regional Plan says the Church should educate people but should not take a biased stand against anybody. He is also critical of priests campaigning for parties.

Church in Goa has always taken stand against communal forces. But this time it seems that everybody is confused; whether to choose communalism over corruption or corruption over communalism.