Kozhikode: Goa governor P S Sreedharan Pillai said that the remarks made by Pala bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt about ‘narcotic jihad’ were not ill-motivated. He said that it was the discontent among the Christian community in the state due to discrimination and scuttling of social equilibrium in the state during the last eight years which served as the background of the current issue.
“I don’t want to justify or repudiate the statement of Pala bishop. I had talked to him over the phone after that. I don’t think that his statement was ill-motivated. He said that he had spoken about the issues which were of concern and that it was not his intention to insult other religions,” Pillai said.
Asked if he believed that the concerns raised by the bishop over the issue were true, Pillai said that he had not studied about the matter in detail.
Pillai said that he had met the Prime Minister on September 10 and added that the PM had preliminary knowledge about the matter. He added that during the meeting of the three cardinals with the Prime Minister which he had facilitated in January, the leaders of the Catholic Church had conveyed their concern on various issues.
Stating that Christian community was facing discrimination in the state, Pillai said that it had become evident in the distribution of minority scholarship in the state which used to be in the 80:20 ratio despite minority funds from the Centre used for the purpose.
Bishop’s comments unfortunate: INL
Meanwhile, LDF ally Indian National League (INL) said that the statement by Pala bishop was unfortunate. INL state president A P Abdul Wahab said that such statements should not be allowed to become tools in the hands of those who want to destroy the state’s communal harmony. INL would hold a statewide campaign with the theme ‘Religion should not become a weapon for social division’ from Wednesday.
“I don’t want to justify or repudiate the statement of Pala bishop. I had talked to him over the phone after that. I don’t think that his statement was ill-motivated. He said that he had spoken about the issues which were of concern and that it was not his intention to insult other religions,” Pillai said.
Asked if he believed that the concerns raised by the bishop over the issue were true, Pillai said that he had not studied about the matter in detail.
Pillai said that he had met the Prime Minister on September 10 and added that the PM had preliminary knowledge about the matter. He added that during the meeting of the three cardinals with the Prime Minister which he had facilitated in January, the leaders of the Catholic Church had conveyed their concern on various issues.
Stating that Christian community was facing discrimination in the state, Pillai said that it had become evident in the distribution of minority scholarship in the state which used to be in the 80:20 ratio despite minority funds from the Centre used for the purpose.
Bishop’s comments unfortunate: INL
Meanwhile, LDF ally Indian National League (INL) said that the statement by Pala bishop was unfortunate. INL state president A P Abdul Wahab said that such statements should not be allowed to become tools in the hands of those who want to destroy the state’s communal harmony. INL would hold a statewide campaign with the theme ‘Religion should not become a weapon for social division’ from Wednesday.
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