Catholic Leaders Meet Urging Govt Not To Delete Good Friday Holiday & Upgrade Benefits

Catholic Leaders Meet Urging Govt Not To Delete Good Friday Holiday & Upgrade Benefits

 Mangaluru : A bevy of Catholic leaders including Former MLA J R Lobo, Susheel Noronha- Executive Committee member of Catholic Council of Karnataka; Harry D’souza- President of Karnataka Christian Social Welfare Association; Rolphy D’Costa and Anil Lobo- President, and Immediate Past President respectively of Catholic Sabha Mangalore Pradesh; Roy Castelino- Past President of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy; among others met at the Mini Hall of Bishop’s House, Mangaluru to discuss about certain issues pertaining to the Catholic Community.

Speaking on the occasion, Harry D’souza said, ” We are aware of the Karnataka Govt’s proposal to delete “Good Friday” from the statutory list of the General Holidays. We are shocked by this move. Our Archbishop is fully aware of the problem arising out of this cancellation. The Hon’ble Minister K J George visited the Archbishop’s House on 29th May. At this Meeting, the Archbishop shared his concern over this important issue and conveyed that it will affect and hurt the religious sentiments of the vast Christian community across the State. Soon the Archbishop will lead a delegation of all the Bishops, Priests. Religious and Leaders to present a Memorandum to the Hon’ble Chief Minister to appeal and prevail upon him to drop the contentious proposal. Meanwhile, let us pray for our Country and State Leaders whom God has chosen them to govern us”.

Also speaking on the occasion on the same subject Susheel Noronha said, “The executive committee of Catholic Council of Karnataka has taken umbrage at the state government’s reported move to trim the list of holidays given for religious festivals, especially those on Good Friday, Eid Milad and Mahalaya Amavasya. The list of govt holidays as recommended by the 6th Pay Commission has been unilaterally decided and taken into account only the convenience of govt employees. The recommendation does not take into consideration, needs of employees of quasi-govt, private companies and general public.This move has alienated nearly 90% of work force across the state, and the move to axe above three holidays-key to members of each religious denomination, will only obstruct members of the community from observing the same”.

The Catholic Committee members appreciated Karnataka state establishing a Christian Development Corporation (KMDC) for the comprehensive development of the Christian Community with an annual budget of 200 crore. Christian Community Coalition in Karnataka has welcomed it as a “landmark” move by Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy. It would help the welfare of the community that constitutes around 15 percent of the state’s population, they said.

The coalition wanted to increase the annual income ceiling of 22,000 to avail the educational, self-employment, and development schemes offered by KMDC and other government social welfare bodies. The Christian coalition also wants the Chief Minister to appoint “an honest bureaucrat” as the director of the Corporation and have due consultation with all section of society before selecting the other officials on the board. The Christian community has several retired civil servants, lawyers, doctors, educationists and other professionals who would be glad to contribute to the proper functioning of the board by sharing their experience, they said.

The schemes of the Corporation should reach out “to the last person in the community so that it makes a difference in their lives and makes them self reliant. The coalition demanded that government policies address the injustice done to Christians in the past and provide equal opportunity for Christians with pro-rata reservations under the minority quota. They also want Christians be considered for the post of Chairman in Minority boards and corporations like the KMDC, Minority Commission on a rotation basis.

Former MLA J R Lobo also briefed about the demands that the Catholic Council wants the government to look into and implement, namely : Upgrade Christian Development Committee to Christian Development Corporation or Christian Development Board; Budget allocation for Christian Development Committee be enhanced from Rs 200 Cr to Rs 500 Cr; Nomination of Christians in the Board of Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation and President/Member is the Karnataka State Minorities Commission; Construction of Samudaya Bhavan and Community Hall in all districts for Christian Communities; Allotment of one or two acres of govt land in Taluk level for the graveyards for Christian Communities. J R Lobo also said that the percentage of recruitment in govt service is very less as Christian Community is in the IIIB compared tom other communities, therefore we would request the govt to constitute a three member committee to examine the reservation policy for Christian Community.

In the meantime, MLC and parliamentary secretary of the chief minister, Ivan D’Souza, after meeting chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and deputy chief minister Dr G Parameshwara on Thursday, May 30, speaking to media had said, “The action of cancelling or modifying the public holiday on Good Friday, the sacred day for Christians, as restricted holiday should be dropped. It’s sad to note that the cabinet subcommittee, which is formed by the state government to look into the number of public holidays, has arrived at the decision of cancelling public holiday on many birthdays of historical personalities. The Catholic Sabha Mangaluru Pradesh has also expressed anxiousness that Good Friday is also included in that list. The Deputy Chief Minister, who received the appeal, has promised not to cancel the holiday on Good Friday, and I hope that he will keep his promise”.