Call on CM to drop Mauvin, investigate involvement
Social activists Pratima Coutinho and Anthony D’Silva addressing the media demanding a thorough probe into the Gautam Khattar’s case to unearth the conspiracy.
MARGAO
Social activists who led the movement demanding the arrest of Gautam Khattar for his derogatory statements against St Francis Xavier on Saturday demanded that the Goa police unravel the conspiracy behind the episode and book all the conspirators in the case.
Activists Pratima Coutinho and Anthony D’Silva also reiterated their demand that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant drop Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho from the Cabinet. They further demanded that Godinho should be probed in the entire case since the Minister had endorsed publicly endorsed Khattar’s statements against St Francis Xavier.
Addressing the media at the Lohia Maidan on Saturday, Pratima and Anthony profusely thanked the people of for their wholehearted support to the agitation demanding the immediate arrest of Gautam Khattar.
Pratima further thanked the people for spontaneously participating in the agitation in a peaceful manner demanding action in the matter. “Khattar’s arrest is the victory for the people of Goa for spontaneously supporting the demand for his arrest”, she said.
She, however, demanded that the government unravel the conspiracy, the players who are part of the conspiracy and their motive behind Khattar’s provocative and inflammatory speech directed at St Francis Xavier. “Goa needs to know the person who had briefed Khattar with falsehood and with what motive. We want to tell the people to unravel the conspiracy. The organizers should not be left scot free since money was paid to Gautam Khattar’s visit to Goa”, she said, reiterating “this is not a one man show, but a conspiracy aimed at fomenting communal tensions in the state”
On Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, Pratrima said the Chief Minister should arrest the Minister and drop him from his Cabinet for endorsing Kattar’s speech.
Activist Anthony D’Silva thanked the people of Goa for expressing their solidarity with the movement demanding Khattar’s arrest. “People of Goa did not come to support the movement because we gave the call, but they all came to demand justice and build pressure on the government and police to arrest the accused”, he asid.
Both Pratima and Anthony took the opportunity to slam Benaulim Aam Aadmi Party MLA Venzy Viegas for trying to praise the Goa police for arresting the accused. They also tried to correct the MLA by saying that they did not give any call for a Goa bandh after the Friday 5 pm deadline, but had only declared that they will consider all options to intensify the agitation including Goa bandh, only after consultations with the activists and political parties. “Venzy has hurt the sentiments of the activists as well as the people who all came together to demand the arrest of Khattar”, Anthony asserted.
