Catholic priests in Goa warn winning candidates against defection

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Panaji, March 1 (IANS): After unprecedented party skipping by Goa lawmakers from 2017 to 2022, a well-known Catholic priest in Goa, Father Eremito Rebello, on Tuesday warned candidates who would be declared winners on March 10 against defecting to another political party.

In a video message, Rebello, who has been at the forefront of several civil society agitations in Goa and has spearheaded the role of the Church in the social sphere, also urged the people of Goa to remain vigilant and gherao MLA if they change parties.

“People should not be silent this time. Everyone, those who are the politicians, the winners, the losers and the people, all the people of Goa should put them up. If we don’t, it will continue … We (the people) have to put them on the right track, no one else will be able to,” Rebello said.

“I appeal to the people of Goa, if a candidate wins on a party ticket and then joins another, then all the people of Goa should gherao, hold a dharna in front of his house and force him to resign from the party to which he joined and ask him to challenge again,” he also said.

A total of 15 out of 17 Congress MPs left the party between 2017 and 2022, most of them joining the ruling BJP. MPs from other parties like Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Goa Forward Party also joined the BJP during the same period.

Rampant defections and party-hopping have been a key election issue ahead of the Feb. 14 election, with Congress requiring its candidates to swear against defection in front of religious deities while having them sign affidavits.

Incidentally, last week the Bombay High Court upheld last year’s order by Goa President Rajesh Patnekar, who rejected motions filed by Congress and the MGP seeking the disqualification of his MPs who had joined the BJP.

According to Rebello, changing parties was a betrayal of the electorate and this defection was more a moral and ethical issue than a legal one.

“After you’re elected, if you leave the party that people voted for and join another party… you can say the court can’t do anything to us, but I mean, it’s not a matter of the court , it’s a matter of conscience,” Rebello said.

“When people vote for you, they vote according to their conscience. Therefore, morality and ethics are applicable here and not the law. Therefore, if you betray people and join another party, then this time people will not remain silent,” he also said.

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