PANAJI
Amid ongoing investigation into the ‘Ayesha’ case involving religious conversions across the country, Goa government is contemplating to introduce a law against such forceful conversions.
Replying to the calling attention motion, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the House the ‘Ayesha’ case involves alleged coercive conversion and is currently under investigation and hence full details cannot be disclosed in public. He also revealed the existence of Love Jihad cases with specific targets in the coastal State.
BJP MLA Premandra Shet and AAP MLA Cruz Silva had moved a calling attention motion in the House on the grave matter of national security and public concern of an international network operating in Goa funded by international operators that came to light on the arrest of Ayesha alias S B Krishna alias Nikki who reportedly resided in Old Goa and was part of a transnational network operating in India.
Ruling as well as the Opposition benches strongly criticised the police for their failure on intelligence inputs as the alleged accuse Ayesha was residing in the State for last one and half year. They said that police failure led to major security threat to the State.
However, Sawant defended the police and affirmed their coordination with Uttar Pradesh Police in tracing the accused woman. “Her parents were staying in Goa, and she used to visit here on holiday. I don’t think that there was any failure on part of the police,” he said.
“There is no failure on the part of the Goa Police. In fact, they helped trace the accused,” CM asserted.
Highlighting broader concerns on religious conversions, Sawant said that many States have already passed anti-conversion laws. “Goa will also need to consider similar legislation to ban forceful conversions. Cases of Love Jihad are being reported, and specific groups are being targeted,” he said.
He further warned about potential sleeper cells and called for vigilance. “We must identify such networks. Even local bodies like panchayats need to be proactive. Goa will not tolerate extremist infiltration, covert funding, or the misuse of our religious spaces,” he said.
The CM assured that Goa’s peace and communal harmony would be protected at all costs.
Sawant further informed that till date 66,000 tenants have been verified and online verification has now begun. “If a tenant is found involved in any criminal activity, the house owner will also be held accountable for sheltering them,” he warned. He also mentioned that the verification of labourers in various sectors has started.
Speaking during the motion, Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao supported action against extremism but cautioned against communal targeting. “We won’t allow misuse of religious harmony. Congress has lost two PMs to terrorism—Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. We must root out all dens of terrorism,” he said.
MLA Carlos Ferreira expressed concern that if ISIS-linked individuals are present in Goa, they could pose a threat by targeting children for exploitation.
MLA Altone D’Costa criticized Goa Police for repeated failures, claiming IPS officers treat postings as holidays. He pointed to rising crime and intelligence lapses, demanding strict action against suspects.
