Gautam Khattar, YouTuber and Sanatan Mahasangh, has been booked by the Goa Police on Sunday night for his alleged ‘derogatory’ remarks against the patron saint of Goa, St Francis Xavier. According to reports, Khattar allegedly made some controversial remarks at the ‘Bhagwan Parshuram Janmotsav’ event held in Vasco on Saturday. Cortalim block Congress committee president Peter D’Souza on Sunday night filed a complaint against Khattar at Vasco police station in Goa. The complainant claimed that the comments have hurt the sentiments of the Christian community.
“Such insensitive statements deeply hurt the sentiments of Goemkars and pose a serious threat to Goa’s long-standing communal harmony. We demand immediate and strict action against Gautam Khattar, along with accountability for all those involved, including the organisers and leaders present. Any attempt to disturb Goa’s peaceful social fabric must be dealt with firmly and without delay,” IE quoted Amit Patkar, president of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee.
What are the Remarks Made By Gautam Khattar Against St Francis Xavier?
The event attended by state Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho and BJP MLAs Sankalp Amonkar and Krishna Salkar was organised by Sanatan Dharm Raksha Samiti Mormugao. The organiser, while distancing itself from the comments, issued an apology to the community.
“It is an unfortunate incident and we condemn the remarks made by the speaker. We are tendering an apology to all our Christian brothers with whom we have been living like brothers. We never expected Khattar to make such a statement and we immediately stopped him,” the organiser said in its apology.
Aam Aadmi Party also released a statement condemning the incident.
“The speaker has hurt the sentiments of lakhs of Goans of all religions who revere St Xavier as ‘Goencho Saib’. This act is also an insult to Bhagwan Parshuram, whose Janmostav function was misused to spew such hate speech, on an auspicious day like Akshay Tritiya. We demand the immediate arrest of Gautam Khattar… and we have written to the DGP regarding the same. AAP appeals to all Goans to maintain calm and not react to such provocative actions. There will be many such attempts to divide us and destroy our age-old communal harmony, which is known the world over,” the AAP statement said.
Police confirmed that an FIR has been registered against Gautam Khattar for “hurting religious sentiments.”
Who is Gautam Khattar?
Gautam Khattar is known for making speeches on Hinduism and Indian culture. His efforts reportedly focus on spreading awareness about Sanatan Dharma among the youth.
Gautam, according to reports, was born in Delhi but brought up in Haridwar. He has a master’s degree in Vedas and a PhD in Vedic literature. He has also written the book – Bhagwat Geeta Sar.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
