MARGAO
Former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao on Saturday has hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying that St Francis Xavier is the Goencho Saib and a symbol of peace for the people of Goa.
Addressing the media, Churchill hoped that the Prime Minister’s statement on St Francis Xavier and forthcoming exposition of his relics in November this year should hopefully silence those who tried to vitiate Goa’s peaceful environment by saying that St Francis Xavier is not Goencho Saib.
“I salute Prime Minister Modi for saying that St Francis Xavier is the Goencho Saib of Goa. Modi’s best wishes for the coming exposition of St Francis Xavier’s relics augurs well for a peaceful State like Goa, where people of all religious communities have lived in peace and harmony over the years,” he said.
Saying the Prime Minister’s statement should bury the unnecessary controversy on St Francis Xavier, Churchill said people such as Subhash Velingkar and others should stop making controversial statements against the Saint and allow the people to live in peace and harmony. “If people such as Velingkar do not want to live peacefully in Goa, they should leave the State and go outside to Pakistan and allow Goans to live as brothers and sisters,” he added.
Clears doubts on EVMs
On the Electronic Voting Machines, the former PWD Minister said there should be no problem in using EVMs in the coming elections. “When I had raised doubts in 2012 that the EVMs can be manipulated, I was mocked by Congress leaders, even calling me uneducated. Today, I see the Oxford-educated Congress leaders demanding scrapping of the EVMs,” he said, adding he has no problem if the elections are conducted with the EVMs.
