In Goa a Catholic priest apologised to the poll authorities for a hate speech urging people not to vote for the BJP, Goa’s Arch-bishop Filipe Neri Ferrao urged voters not to cast their ballot for those candidates who “corrupt, communalize, exploit and divide.”

In his message on the eve of Easter Sunday, Ferrao said: “As we stand on the threshold of parliamentary elections as well as by-elections in some of our constituencies, let us pray that our electorate will vote for the forces which empower the weak, the marginalised and the exploited, rather than those that corrupt, communalise, exploit and divide.” Ferrao is the religious and spiritual leader of more than a quarter of the state’s 1.5 million population which is Catholic in religious orientation.

Two viral videos featuring Father Conceicao D’Silva, in which he referred to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah as a “demon” and attributed the cause of late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s affliction of cancer to the “wrath of God,” went viral in the media, attracting uniform condemnation.

After a complaint was filed by the Goa BJP against the priest, D’Silva apologised to the district administration, which also cautioned him against making hate speeches.