By IANS,
Panaji : The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Monday charged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders had even “bribed” Hindu gods to bolster their sagging vote bank in Goa.
The remarks by NCP leader Jitendra Deshprabhu come a day after the BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy said his party had finally broken the ice with Christian voters in the state.
Deshprabhu said the BJP “bribed” numerous temple committees in the state with money in order to win the Lok Sabha polls.
“They did not even spare the Hindu deities. Bundles of notes were offered to the temple committees, bribing them in order to lure votes,” Deshprabhu told reporters.
BJP national spokesperson and in-charge of Goa Rudy Sunday said the sizeable number of Christian voters had finally warmed up to the party.
“The support the BJP got from the minority community in the Lok Sabha elections in Goa is a good sign. We managed to garner sizeable votes in minority-dominated constituencies,” the senior BJP leader said.
Deshprabhu alleged that BJP MP from North Goa Shripad Naik, during his previous stint, spent his MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds on communal projects.
“In the garb of spending money on community centres, he has only spent money on temples, which manage these centres,” said Deshprabhu, who lost the Lok Sabha election to Naik from North Goa.
“It is only furthering the BJP’s communal agenda. Tell me, can you have a nikah (Muslim marriage) in a temple community centre? Can you have a Christian wedding at such MPLAD funded community centres run by temple managements?” he wondered.
Of Goa’s two Lok Sabha seats, the BJP and the Congress won one each.
In an official statement following the meeting Sunday, which was attended by all state BJP bigwigs, the party said that lack of money power was one of the main reasons for their lackluster performance in the state, which saw sitting MP Naik’s lead slip by nearly 52,000 votes.