A day after the Archbishop of Goa and Daman said that the Constitution was in danger, Minorities Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today asserted that minorities in India were well protected and nobody should issue "fatwas and farmaans".
Achbishop of Goa and Daman Father Filipe Neri Ferrao, in a letter on Sunday addressed to Christians in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, had said, "Today, our Constitution is in danger (and that is) the reason why most of the people are living in insecurity."
His office today suggested that he was expressing his "anxiety to his own people", but insisted that the remarks were not against any political party or government.
Reacting to the letter, Naqvi told reporters, "A season of fatwas and farmaans (diktats) has started. There is protection for minorities in India. There is constitutional protection, social security and religious freedom for minorities. Nobody should make such fatwas and farmaans and not harbour any misunderstandings."
Ferrao's secretary Fr Joaquim Loila Pereira today said the people should read the entire 15-page letter and not "take this statement or that statement out of context and make it look as if the letter is against political parties".
Ferraos' letter came weeks after Delhi Archbishop Anil Coutos, in a letter, had said that a "turbulent political atmosphere" posed a threat to India's democratic principles and secular fabric.
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