Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is deliberately stoking communal tensions in Goa, asserting that their divisive agenda will not go unchallenged.

According to a Kashmir Media Service report on Monday, his comments come in the wake of protests triggered by remarks made by Subhash Velingkar, a former chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Goa, concerning St. Francis Xavier, the state’s patron saint.

In a post on X, Gandhi lamented that under the BJP’s rule, this harmony is under threat. ‘The BJP is deliberately stoking communal tensions, with a former RSS leader provoking Christians and Sangh organizations calling for an economic boycott of Muslims. Their strategy is clear: divide people while exploiting Goa’s ecologically sensitive areas by illegally converting green land and bypassing environmental regulations,’ he stated.

The situation escalated over the weekend as locals and political leaders gathered in Old Goa to protest Velingkar’s remarks. Protesters presented a memorandum to local police, demanding that Velingkar be externed until the decennial exposition of St. Francis Xavier’s relics concludes. This significant event is scheduled to take place from November 2024 to January 2025.