Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and the Church on Thursday joined the growing chorus for seeking a change in April 17 Lok Sabha poll date in the state as it clashes with a Catholic article of faith, which is a day ahead of Good Friday.
Parrikar and the Archbishop of Goa and Daman Fr Filipe Neri Ferrao wrote separate letters to Election Commission of India seeking rescheduling of the date as April 17 happens to be Maundy on Thursday which commemorates the Maundy (a religious rite) and Last Supper of Jesus Christ.
"The date, 17th April, 2014, coincides this year with Maundy Thursday, one of the most solemn religious celebrations in the calendar of the Catholic Church," the Archbishop`s letter said. Goa sends two Lok Sabha MPs and the polling is scheduled on the single day.
The Archbishop`s letter stated that the polling date would result in a serious conflict between the religious duties and the constitutional duties of many Catholics, particularly of more than 40 percent of the polling officers, who would be completely deprived from attending the obligatory religious services, said Goa Church spokesman Fr Olavo Caiado.
Parrikar asked the authorities not to hold the election between April 17-20 and suggested it could be held before April 13 or April 20.
"Considering the significance of Maundy Thursday and its importance to the Catholic community, (I) would like to request for a change in poll date from April 17 to any day before April 13 or April 20.”
"While April 13 is observed as Palm Sunday, April 17 is observed as Maundy Thursday and April 20 as Easter Sunday," Parrikar said. Referring to the fact that many polling booths are placed
in Catholic schools, which are in turn situated in Church premises, the Archbishop averred that polling activity on church grounds would be next to impossible, since the religious services on Maundy Thursday and following days are generally held on the same grounds, owing to the large numbers of the faithful in attendance.
"Some other organisations like the Catholic Association of Goa, the Diocesan Pastoral Council and the Archdiocesan Board of Education, have also made similar representations to the Chief Election Commissioner," Caiado said.
The Goa State Human Rights Commission also wrote to the EC recommending for a change in the election day.
"It appears that April 17 is fixed as polling date for Goa that happens on Maundy on Thursday, which is considered to be an important religious occasion for Catholic community who constitute substantial proportion of the state`s population," according to a letter by GSHRC head Justice PK Mishra to EC.
Several quarters in the state, including Goa Vikas Party and Congress, have demanded that the date be postponed because of the religious occasion.
