CURCHOREM
In a stinging attack on the state government, Caritas Goa Director Fr Maverick Fernandes has criticised the BJP government for acting in a dictatorial manner regarding the DefExpo project proposed at Betul.
This is the first major criticism of the controversial project by a senior church official.
Addressing a public meeting outside the St Sebastian's Church at Cananginim on Sunday evening, Fr Fernandes claimed that the acquisition of land for the proposed DefExpo was a big land scam.
“In this case, civilian land has been directly handed over to defence ministry without taking local bodies and people into confidence,” said Fr Fernandes, an activist in the forefront on a number of social issues.
Appealing to locals to stand united against the proposed DefExpo and Aero show project, Fr Fernandes added: “There are high chances that local people could lose their land if the DefExpo comes up, as the area surrounding the project will automatically be turned into a security zone, imposing restrictions on entry of civilians in the area.”
Insisting that the DefExpo was of no use to the local people, Fr Fernandes said that was reason why the local panchayat and its people were being sidelined.
“They are being kept in the dark to avoid any resistance to the DefExpo and Aero show project,” summed up Fr Fernandes.
