PANAJI: Deputy chief minister Francis D’Souza on Friday added to the controversial statement of his cabinet colleague cooperation minister Pandurang ‘Deepak’ Dhavalikar when he offered his own take on ‘Hindu rashtra’, saying all Indians are Hindus and that he was a Christian Hindu .

“India is a Hindu nation. There is no doubt about it. It is always a Hindu nation and it will always stay a Hindu nation. You don’t have to create a Hindu nation,” D’Souza, CM Manohar Parrikar ’s deputy, said.

Asked to elaborate, D’Souza said, “India is a Hindu country—Hindustan. All Indians in Hindustan are Hindus, including (me) I am a Christian Hindu, I am Hindustani. So you don’t have to make it a Hindu nation; it is a Hindu nation. So there is no question of making it a Hindu nation.”

Asked about the recent statement on pubs and bikinis by PWD minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar, the elder brother of Pandurang, D’Souza said people are free to make controversies out of anything. “It is a free country, it is a democracy. The right to freedom of speech and expression is there. He is free to express his opinion. I am free to express my opinion. But India is an inclusive democracy,” D’Souza said.