Goa BJP legislator opposes axing of Oct 2 holiday

Even as BJP spokespersons shied away from commenting on the government's decision to drop Gandhi Jayanti from the list of "commercial and industrial" holidays for this year, a senior party functionary expressed "shock" at the deletion.

Speaking to reporters here, north Goa Bharatiya Janata Party president Michael Lobo said he would take up the issue with Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza.

"I am shocked by this. You cannot disrespect the Father of the Nation," said Lobo, a legislator from Calangute, a coastal constituency in north Goa.

On Saturday, the Congress, quoting the state government's official gazette, accused the BJP-led coalition government of indulging in communal politics by dropping Gandhi Jayanti as a state-endorsed holiday.

"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 spokesman Durgadas Kamat said.

Official BJP spokespersons in Goa are unwilling to come on record on the issue.