Vijay apologises for Jesus remark, blames Cong for twisting his statement

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PANAJI:
Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai has apologised for his comments in the House drawing a comparison between Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Jesus Christ during his speech in support of a congratulatory motion moved by BJP's Bicholim MLA Rajesh Patnekar on the completion of the state-of-the-art Atal Setu cable-stayed bridge.
"If anyone is hurt because of the spin deliberately given by the Congress, I seek pardon from people whose sentiments are hurt. But I appeal to the people not to fall prey to the mind games played by the Congress," Sardesai's statement said, even as he accused the Congress of misunderstanding his remarks.
The Congress meanwhile reacted by saying, Sardesai suffers from congenital foot-in-the-mouth disease.
Sardesai said, his comments only drew "an analogy between Parrikar and Jesus Christ", and he did not attempt to equate them. He blamed the Congress for "twisting" his statement.
"It is in fact the Congress that is insulting religious sentiments by giving a spin to my statement," he alleged.
The Congress had demanded Sardesai's resignation on Friday and accused him of "hurting the sentiments" of Catholics by his remarks in the House.
Speaking in the House congratulating Parrikar for the 'Atal Setu' bridge, Sardesai had said: "In the Bible, there is a saying which says man should build bridges and not walls. Jesus built bridges not walls. You need to build bridges. Manohar Parrikar is a person who builds bridges."
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TCP Minister has foot-in mouth disease: Cong
PANAJi
The Congress, meanwhile, hit back at the TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai, saying his bending over backwards to butter up the BJP and eulogise its leaders has caused him to suffer from a congenital foot-in-the-mouth disease.
"When he gets exposed, he blames it on the Congress for twisting his statements," Congress spokesmen Sidhanath Buyao said.
"The Minister should check the dictionary and come clear whether analogy and equating aren't one and the same. In his so-called apology, he has again likened Parrikar to Jesus instead of being sorry for hurting the sentiments of Christians," Buyao said.
"He has forgotten basic English words and cannot distinguish the difference between analogy and equate," Buyao added.
Buyao said, the people haven't forgotten how during the formalin in fish controversy, Sardesai, who turned a blind eye to the fish mafia tried to shield them and finally pretended to be the one who sorted out the issue.
"The fact remains that he has insulted people's sentiments. He has shamed even the august House of Goa Assembly," Buyao added.