CANACONA
In a show of solidarity, hundreds of residents from Canacona marched to the Canacona Police Station to demand the immediate arrest of Subhash Velingkar over his recent comments about the holy relics of St Francis Xavier, which many in the Catholic community found offensive and hurtful.
Gathering outside the police station, demonstrators recited hymns dedicated to St Francis Xavier and shouted slogans condemning Velingkar's remarks and presented a memorandum to Police Inspector Harish Raut Desai. The protesters labelled Velingkar, a former chief of the RSS in Goa, a habitual offender for making derogatory statements against the Catholic community and demanded his prosecution under the law.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Canacona, SP Tikam Singh Verma, informed the crowd that Velingkar was untraceable, neither at his residence nor elsewhere. This led former Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes to sarcastically suggest, "If you want, you can get anyone and everyone. Fr Bolmax was easily traceable."
Speakers at the protest questioned Velingkar's mental stability and suggested he should undergo a psychological evaluation. They warned him not to attempt to polarise communities in Goa. Fernandes added, "Goa is so peaceful, but you are spewing fire amidst the peaceful society. The suggestion that a DNA test should be done on St Francis Xavier's relics is absurd. Our Saint passed away 450 years ago; for whom, with whom and for what a DNA test is to be done?"
The former legislator also criticised the State government for its handling of the issue. "This government has cheated the people of Goa with even the Prime Minister declaring that the Pope will be invited for the Exposition, and instead no invitation was extended to our Pope. Till date, no letter /invitation has gone to the Vatican. This is being done with only the intention to divert the mind of Goans, not to accuse the government for all the illegalities that are going on and let the people remain busy in this."
Congress leader Janardhan Bhandari, another prominent speaker, stated, “Your attempts to disrupt communal harmony will not succeed. The spirit of peace and togetherness is embedded in the DNA of every Goan.”
Besides Fernandes and Bhandari, the protest saw the presence of several notable figures, including various local councillors and community leaders.
