TCONEWS ADMIN
Panaji: The Catholic Church in Goa on Jan 29 issued an advisory to citizens, urging them not to have a casual and careless approach towards their moral duty of voting, saying the “quality of seeds sown during elections determines the quality of legislations and policies in governance that will follow”.
The advisory also cautioned citizens to be aware of the reality that any “oppressive, discriminatory and destructive legislations proposed at the national level require the collaboration of state governments for enactment and their cooperation for implementation… One cannot be blind to the larger thrust that is being placed in recent times at the national level to undo the Sovereign, Socialist, Secular and Democratic fabric of our nation as enshrined in our Constitution.”
“The undue intrusion and interference of governments in the judiciary or educational and financial institutions cannot be a sign of good governance,” the statement issued by the Centre for Social Justice and Peace read, adding that “the terror unleashed by state and non-state actors to silence dissent or diverse opinions about governance by labelling them as anti-national or unpatriotic cannot be ignored by responsible citizens.”
The church also took a dig at the government’s recent push towards digitisation saying “the shift from the social policy of ‘roti, kapdaaurmakan’ for uplifting the poor sections of the society to an emphasis on digital and cashless policy involving smart phones, ATM cards and apps as the basic requirement for every citizen to avail of government benefits and purchase their basic needs is a worrisome phenomenon.”
With about 26 per cent of the population in Goa following the Christian faith, the church has, for years, been instrumental in guiding its voters before the election, especially in South Goa, which has a strong catholic presence. Goa goes to polls on 4 February and will see the BJP fighting to retain power in a three-way contest with Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party.
