Goa Purification: Minister nixes BJP’s probe demand

Panaji, March 25 (IANS) Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday demanded action against perpetrators of alleged 'purification ceremony' of the site where Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's mortal remains were kept for public homage, Goa's Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude rejected any probe into it.

Criticising the uproar, Gaude said, "(it) looks like someone wanted an excuse, that's why it was blown out of proportion. There will be no enquiry. I have already spoken to my employees. To those who have uploaded it on social media, I have only one question, have such rituals never been performed in their homes?".

Gaude, an Indepdent MLA, said employees of the Kala Academy had sought permission for a "havan" (yagya) at the premises soon after March 18. "I had given the permission to respect their sentiments," he said.

Gaude also criticised people for raising the purification ceremony issue, saying 99.99 per cent Hindus perform such rites at their homes in case of a death in the family.

On Saturday, Gaude had promised a probe into the ritualistic 'shuddhikaran' at the government-run Kala Academy, where Parrikar's remains were kept on March 18.

Earlier in the day, state BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar said the purification ceremony was "not correct". "Action should be taken against the person who did this," Tendulkar said.

When asked if the party would follow up the issue with the Arts and Culture Minister under whose aegis the Kala Academy operates, Tendulkar said: "Yes, we will speak to him".

Gaude also said practice of religious rituals in government premises is not new and is prevalent across India, especially when a new infrastructure project is undertaken or completed.

"If people were offended by the ritual then it would not be allowed again at the Art and Culture centre," he said.