Goa Minister for Cooperation Deepak Dhavlikar belonging to the regional outfit Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), an alliance partner of Bharatiya Janata Party, on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be able to make India a Hindu State in the future if he got unstinted and full support and backing from “all of us”.

Mr. Dhavlikar was speaking in the State Legislative Assembly supporting a congratulatory motion tabled by two ruling BJP MLAs on Thursday, the third day of monsoon session of the Assembly, congratulating Mr. Modi for sweeping the Lok Sabha polls 2014 and forming a government at the Centre.

In his speech in Konkani, Mr. Dhavlikar inter alia stated, “If all of us support him, if all of us stay behind him and fully assist and cooperate with him with vigour, then it will not be difficult to establish a “Hindu Rashtra” in India in near future, the way India came to be known in the past.”

Mr. Dhavlikar is younger brother of State Minister for Public Works Ramkrishna alias Sudin Dhavlikar who recently courted controversy opposing pub culture.

Congress organizing Secretary and Spokesperson Durgadas Kamat told The Hindu that he was shocked to hear Mr. Dhavlikar speaking of establishing “Hindu Rasthra” in the future as it was against the Constitution under which he was sworn in as a Minister.

He asked Mr. Dhavlikar to define what exactly he meant by “Hindu Rashtra” and wondered if the senior alliance partner BJP backed his wish.