Goans in UK demand arrest of Khattar, Godinho

Panaji: Amid growing protests across Goa over YouTuber Gautam Khattar’s derogatory remarks against St Francis Xavier, Goans living in the UK expressed solidarity and condemned the comments as “an insult” to Goencho Saib. They urged chief minister Pramod Sawant to order Khattar’s immediate arrest.

“If the CM fails to take action against him, we will come together and stone Khattar,” said St Estevam resident Joseph Lobo, who works in the UK.

They said Goans of all faiths overseas live peacefully and described the emergence of communal tension in Goa as “deeply upsetting”. They also questioned the silence of minister Mauvin Godinho, who was present onstage, and demanded that an FIR be filed against him.

“The patron saint is the very foundation of the Christian community of Goa. Despite being a Christian himself, Godinho not only kept quiet but also failed to confront Khattar onstage and enabled the derogatory remarks to continue. He is the main culprit,” another Goan said.

Godinho and BJP MLAs Sankalp Amonkar and Krishna Salkar were among those present at the event.

This is the second time the UK Goan community has protested remarks about St Francis Xavier. Earlier, they had objected to comments made by former RSS Goa chief Subhash Velingker ahead of the exposition of the saint’s relics in Nov 2024.
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