Goa Minister apologises for 'likening' Parrikar to Jesus

A Goa minister on Saturday apologised for "likening" Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to Jesus Christ.

"If anyone is hurt because of the spin deliberately given by the Congress, I seek pardon from people whose sentiments are hurt. But I appeal to the people not to fall prey to the mind games played by the Congress," state Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai said in a statement, accusing the Congress of misunderstanding his remarks.

Sardesai said that he was only trying to draw "an analogy between Parrikar and Jesus Christ", but did not make an attempt to equate them and blamed the Congress for twisting his statement.

"In fact it is the Congress who, by giving a spin to my statement, is insulting religious sentiments," the Minister added.

The Congress on Friday demanded Sardesai's resignation accusing him of hurting the sentiments of Catholics in Goa for the remarks he made during a congratulatory motion moved by BJP MLA Rajesh Patnekar on Thursday at the Budget session of the state legislative Assembly.

Congratulating Parrikar for the new cable bridge 'Atal Setu', Sardesai had said: "In the Bible, there is a saying, which says man should build bridges and not walls. Jesus built bridges not walls. You need to build bridges. Manohar Parrikar is a person who builds bridges".

--IANS

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