The Congress on Friday condemned the FIR filed against a Goa church wing and an NGO over the presence of children at an anti-CAA protest, terming it an “assault on a religious institution”.
The Goa Police’s women and child protection unit on Thursday filed an FIR against the Council for Social Justice and Peace (a Goa church’s wing) and National Human Rights Organisation (Goa Chapter) for using children to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at a rally in Margao.
“The politically dictated FIR by the Goa Police is not only an attack on freedom of expression and speech, but also a direct assault on a religious institution,” Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar said.
Talking to reporters here, Mr. Chodankar accused the BJP-led State government of creating “fear psychosis” among the anti-CAA protesters, who have been fighting to save the Constitution. “When the BJP realised that people are against its ulterior motive of passing the CAA, they are resorting to such actions,” the Congress leader alleged.
BJP’s Goa general secretary Narendra Sawaikar said, “There is no point in dragging children on the street for this issue. The person who has filed the complaint must have found something unconvincing in the rally,” he said.
