Headlines
Goa CM blames 'mistake or mischief' on Gandhi Jayanti gaffe
Panaji, March 15
Dropping of Gandhi Jayanti
from a list of government-endorsed holidays for commercial and
industrial establishments in Goa sparked a nationwide controversy,
forcing a reluctant BJP to call it a mistake, even as the Congress
demanded an explanation from the union home ministry for the gaffe.
The
notification dropping Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) from the list of
holidays for "commercial and industrial" establishments was issued in
September last year, but it suddenly became a subject of controversy on
Saturday, with the Congress accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
of insulting Mahatma Gandhi and sullying his image.
"This clearly
shows the hidden agenda of the BJP government. This seems like it is
just the beginning. Hope the government does not have holidays on
Nathuram Godse's birth anniversary in the future," Congress spokesperson
Durgadas Kamat told IANS.
Incidentally, while dropping Gandhi
Jayanti as a holiday, the notification adds an additional holiday on
occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on September 18, making it two holidays in a
row for the religious occasion.
"We want a probe into how this
happened and want the holiday restored," Kamat said, adding that the
Gandhi Jayanti holiday had been a permanent feature in the list of
"commercial and industrial" holidays up to 2014.
It wasn't the
opposition party alone which was demanding an explanation over the
issue. BJP's own MLA and North Goa district president Michael Lobo too
expressed dissent and disappointment with the decision to drop the
Gandhi Jayanti holiday.
"I am shocked by this. You cannot
disrespect the Father of the Nation ignoring all his contributions for
India. This move is not fair. I will complain to the chief minister and
deputy chief minister about this and demand restoration (of the
holiday)," Lobo said.
Even as both the government and BJP's
official spokespersons dodged media persons for a major part of the day,
on Sunday evening Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar broke his silence
on the issue, calling the content of the notification erroneous and
blaming the Congress party for mischief.
"The government has no
intention of dropping Gandhi Jayanti as a holiday. If it has happened it
was either by mistake or mischief by the Congress. There is an election
(zilla panchayat) election in Goa, the Congress will go to any level to
create a controversy," Parsekar told reporters.
Narendra Savoikar, BJP MP from South Goa, also tried to clear the air, taking to the social media to comment on the issue.
"The
government of Goa's official calendar for the year 2015 published in
January shows October 2 as public holiday. Unnecessary, unsubstantiated
controversy," Savoikar said on Facebook, even uploading an image of the
Goa government's official calendar for October on his timeline.
The department for Information and Publicity too issued a statement after the chief minister's interaction with the media.
"The
government of Goa has today (Sunday) clarified that Gandhi Jayanti
holiday (October 2, 2015) has not been cancelled. The official calendars
of the government have already listed Gandhi Jayanti as a holiday," the
statement said.
But the Congress has rejected this defence.
"What
we are claiming is that Gandhi Jayanti has been dropped from the
"commercial and industrial" holidays, not from the list of government
holidays," Kamat said.
The Congress has also threatened to take
the issue to parliament now, with Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik
demanding an explanation from union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
"The
BJP has insulted the Father of the Nation. Since the it is a question
which involves Mahatma Gandhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh should make a
statement," Naik said, adding that he would raise the issue in
parliament on Monday.