MARGAO: State convenor of

and its South Goa

candidate Elvis Gomes has defended the controversial statements made by Fr Conceicao D’Silva, the parish

of Our Lady of Snows, Raia, who was issued a notice by the South Goa collector Ajit Roy for his hate speech.

Referring to the complaint made by BJP against D’Silva with the state’s chief electoral officer, Gomes called into question the propriety of the BJP in objecting to the priest’s comments “when everyday you have been hearing about sants and maharajs openly propagating BJP.”

“If at all it is an issue, it is for his hierarchy to decide. If at all there is a grievance it should be from people who heard his speech, not from outsiders. It’s an internal issue,” said Gomes, adding that he didn’t hear anything about D’Silva’s comments against BJP national president

or ex-chief minister

’s illness.