The Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed the fact finding committee report prepared by the Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) on desecration of religious structures, accusing them of making a malicious attempt to polarise votes during the just concluded by-poll, while the church body responded saying it's all empty talk.
The desecrations have died down, but the report from CSJP fact-finding team has opened up a debate. The police probe has been veering around this 54-year-old Francis, a former convict and taxi driver from Morailem-Curchorem, who was nabbed following extensive midnight police operations. The CSJP report goes to discard the theory that this man was solely behind the damage. They suspect right wing radicals to be behind the desecrations of religious structures.
The CSJP report claims its report is based on interviews and discussions with people on the ground. Fr Maverick Fernandes, the Director of Caritas and former executive secretary of the CSJP has stoutly defended the probe saying it's a well-studied report. With due respect to all religions, the fact of the matter is there cannot be parallel investigation when an official probe is going on. Police should be given a free and fair opportunity to probe, without any interference from any groups or politicians. Police have been the foot soldiers, let them piece together every bit of evidence before the courts. The court will then decide the veracity of their findings, nobody else can.
It would have been prudent for the CSJP to hold on to their cards and wait till the police probe concludes. Trying to punch holes in the government machinery out of turn and opening up their own probe will fetch no results. It only exposes the political connotations as the report was released a couple of days before the by-poll.
No individual or groups can sit in judgement while the probe is on. If there are any discrepancies or shortcomings in the police probe, then the investigating police team should be approached. Nobody can take the high moral ground and start a parallel probe, while discarding the government investigations. Besides, the veracity of facts contained in these independent probes would be subject to further debate. Where will this end finally? The CSJP fact-finding team has blamed right wing radicals to be behind the desecrations. For a moment if we go by this theory, what is the material evidence on record to prove this aspect? And will these right wing radicals admit that they were responsible for desecrations? All said and done, it is surprising that such a report has been vetted by the church hierarchy.
The desecrations have died down, but the report from CSJP fact-finding team has opened up a debate. The police probe has been veering around this 54-year-old Francis, a former convict and taxi driver from Morailem-Curchorem, who was nabbed following extensive midnight police operations. The CSJP report goes to discard the theory that this man was solely behind the damage. They suspect right wing radicals to be behind the desecrations of religious structures.
The CSJP report claims its report is based on interviews and discussions with people on the ground. Fr Maverick Fernandes, the Director of Caritas and former executive secretary of the CSJP has stoutly defended the probe saying it's a well-studied report. With due respect to all religions, the fact of the matter is there cannot be parallel investigation when an official probe is going on. Police should be given a free and fair opportunity to probe, without any interference from any groups or politicians. Police have been the foot soldiers, let them piece together every bit of evidence before the courts. The court will then decide the veracity of their findings, nobody else can.
It would have been prudent for the CSJP to hold on to their cards and wait till the police probe concludes. Trying to punch holes in the government machinery out of turn and opening up their own probe will fetch no results. It only exposes the political connotations as the report was released a couple of days before the by-poll.
No individual or groups can sit in judgement while the probe is on. If there are any discrepancies or shortcomings in the police probe, then the investigating police team should be approached. Nobody can take the high moral ground and start a parallel probe, while discarding the government investigations. Besides, the veracity of facts contained in these independent probes would be subject to further debate. Where will this end finally? The CSJP fact-finding team has blamed right wing radicals to be behind the desecrations. For a moment if we go by this theory, what is the material evidence on record to prove this aspect? And will these right wing radicals admit that they were responsible for desecrations? All said and done, it is surprising that such a report has been vetted by the church hierarchy.
