the goan I network
PANAJI
Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes on Monday claimed that even though he and other Catholic MLAs get insulted by Church leaders for supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, they face it because the Act was in “national interest.”
When Fernandes stood up to speak in support of the congratulatory motion moved by Babush Monserrate and Clafasio Dias, he spoke about how the “trend” in Goa was for the Catholics to be against the CAA.
“The Church took its time, but has now said it is against the CAA. We get insulted by leaders of the Church, but we face it in national interest,” said Fernandes, the “we” referring to the Catholic MLAs with the BJP.
The Canacona MLA also went on to say that only “small groups of people” were making a noise against the CAA in Goa, and that it was the Congress who was making the most noise...”just because the government was bringing in something good.” He claimed that the five Congress MLAs were coming together to oppose the CAA “for their political survival.”
Fernandes also alleged that many Christians were being harassed in Pakistan, and that the CAA was a means of giving them the “freedom” to come back. Several of the MLAs also cited similar examples in their constituencies of cases of Goans in Karachi who struggled to get a visa to visit Goa. The legislators claimed that with CAA, these Karachi Goans would be saved the trouble.
Canacona MLA objects in Assembly
to being called ‘prostitute’
PANAJI: Holding up his phone, the Canacona legislator urged the Speaker to take action against “some people” who were calling the MLAs “prostitutes.”
“There are some people calling the 40 MLAs prostitutes and some action needs to be taken against this,” Fernandes told the Speaker.
Incidentally just before that particular session of the House had started, a noted Ribandar advocate, who is infamous for his jibes at ruling MLAs in Goa had circulated a whatsapp message condemning the BJP MLAs for supporting the CAA.
“The current BJP altar boys and that lady BJP nun will not be forgiven or spared by the people of Goa for their support to this draconian and very unconstitutional CAA. May the Almighty God of all faiths put these political prostitutes in their rightful place,” the widely circulated message read.
