Complaints against 8 Goa MLAs for breaking loyalty oath taken in temple and church
Activists Swapnesh Sherlekar and Roshan Mathias, in their separate complaints, named the eight MLAs – Digambar Kamat, Micheal Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Aleixo Sequiera, Sankalp Amonkar, Rajesh Faldessai, Kedar Naik and Rudolfo Fernandes.
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Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Goa BJP President Sadanand Shet Tanavade welcome eight Congress MLAs who joined the party, in Panaji, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. The newly joined members are Michael Lobo, Digambar Kamat, Delilah Lobo, Rajesh Phaldesai, Kedar Naik, Sankalp Amonkar, Aleixo Sequeira and Rudolf Fernandes. (PTI Photo/file)TWO ACTIVISTS have filed separate complaints with police against the eight MLAs who defected from the Congress to the BJP on September 14 for allegedly hurting both Hindu and Catholic sentiments by failing to abide by the loyalty oath they had taken at the Mahalaxmi Temple and Bambolim Cross ahead of the Assembly election in February.
The two complaints filed at Panaji Police Station urged the police to file an FIR against the eight MLAs alleging that they “disrespected and insulted” the Gods of both religions and “deeply hurt” the sentiments of Hindus and Catholics in Goa.
On January 22, ahead of the Assembly election on February 14, the Congress’s 35 poll candidates had taken a pledge of loyalty in the Mahalaxmi Temple in Panaji, Fulancho Khuris at Bambolim and a dargah in Betim. In their pledge, they stated that if elected on a Congress ticket, they would remain with the party through their five-year term as MLAs.
On September 14, however, eight of the Congress’s 11 MLAs joined the BJP.
Activists Swapnesh Sherlekar and Roshan Mathias, in their separate complaints, named the eight MLAs – Digambar Kamat, Micheal Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Aleixo Sequiera, Sankalp Amonkar, Rajesh Faldessai, Kedar Naik and Rudolfo Fernandes.
Sherlekar, a resident of Bicholim, stated in his complaint: “Goddess Mahalaxmi is widely worshipped by us Hindus of Goa. The temple of Goddess Mahalaxmi in Panjim wherein these 8 culprits had taken oath in January and then later deserted is considered a very sacred and holy place by us Hindus.”
By breaking the oath taken before the Goddess, Sherlekar said, the MLAs had “made a mockery of the Goddess Mahalaxmi”, disrespected the deity and “deeply hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus in general”. He said if the MLAs were allowed to get away with it, they are likely to repeat this in the future.
Mathais stated in his complaint that the Fulancho Khuris in Bambolim is a “much revered and miraculous cross of the Catholic religion”. He said the act of taking the oath without any intentions of honouring it was “unwarranted in the first place”. And by breaking the oath, the eight MLAs mocked the sacred Fulancho Khuris and “deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the Catholic community in general”.
The complainants said that the “unethical, immoral and belittling acts” committed by the eight MLAs would set a bad precedent for the next generation. Sherlekar said on Thursday that if the police did not act on their complaint they would take the matter to court.
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