Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Goa Shantaram Naik has cautioned the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiran Rijiju that creation of an authority to resolve Goa citizenship issue will be counter-productive and it will create chaos in the State on the eve of election.
Mr. Naik said in his letter to the Minister on Saturday that the response of the Minister with respect to the issue was vague and ambiguous. It would have been helpful if he had clarified in detail about the decision of the Union Government in this regard.
Mr. Rijiju, during his Goa visit on Friday had said that the Centre would resolve the dual citizenship issue of Goans by setting up a Authority in Goa.
Ministry itself has taken a long time to prepare the report and possibly, the report has still not gone to the cabinet, Mr. Naik said.
Mr. Naik has reiterated his suggestion that proper approach would have been to amend section 9 of the Indian Citizenship act 1955 to add a provison to Section 9 of the Act, to the effect that no citizen of India, shall be deemed to have lost his citizenship merely on grounds of his or her availing the facility conferred by the order enacted by Portuguese Government, of registering their births in Portugal, to the Indians citizens ,residing in the territory of erstwhile Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, then ruled by Portugal, unless such Indian citizens voluntarily apply for the citizenship of that country with specific intention of renouncing the citizenship of India.
Mr. Naik said that the contention of the Minister that with the process of constituting an Authority, people will not have to come to Delhi may be true but if the Minister had to accept his solution they may not have to go even to Panaji.
Besides, Mr. Naik said in his letter, "If an Authority is created, there will be hearings in each individual case and, decisions will not be prompt. Further, the whole exercise will involve production of documents and other evidence to prove the bonafides of the applicants."
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is not going to wait for completion of your process to be completed and they will start deleting the names from the electoral rolls by giving a deadline, Mr. Naik cautioned.
The issue has led to thousands of Goans born in "Estado da Índia", i.e. Goa, Daman & Diu, prior to 19.12.1961, and in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, prior to 21.08.1954 and their births registered in the Civil Registration Offices of these territories before the above mentioned dates have been given a facility by the Portuguese Government by issuing an order in 2006, to register their birth in Portugal."
