If until now it was mere speculation that the names of those holding dual citizenship would be deleted from the electoral roles, there is now confirmation of this. The Deputy Election Commissioner, Umesh Sinha, who was in Goa to review the preparations for the 2017 State Assembly polls, confirmed that a decision has been taken to delete from the voting list the names of those who have obtained foreign nationality or are holding dual passports. This was further confirmed by Joint Chief Electoral Officer Narayan Navti who said that as per the Representation of People’s Act and the Election Rules, one has to be Indian citizen to cast one’s vote. This decision is going to affect 27,000 people who have either obtained foreign nationality and given up their Indian travel documents or hold dual nationality, which the country does not permit. The figure of 27,000 is based on data that has been submitted to the Election Office by the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
While there is no argument on the fact that dual citizenship does not exist as a concept in the country, the Goa case of dual nationality is a little different from any other ordinary citizenship issue and it concerns mainly Portuguese citizenship. Ordinarily an Indian national will be able to obtain citizenship of a foreign country by living there for a certain number of years, in the case of Goa there could be case of some who have obtained Portuguese citizenship and have never stepped even beyond the Goan borders. This is simply because Portugal permits residents of its former colony of Goa, Daman and Diu, born before December 19, 1961, to apply for Portuguese citizenship of the former colonial power by first getting their births registered in the Central Registry in Lisbon and then applying for a citizenship card or passport.
The fallout of this decision of the Election Commission of India could affect all the 27,000 persons who have obtained Portuguese citizenship and are living in Goa. The question is whether this could be the first step towards declaring all those Goans holding dual citizenship as foreigners?
It is an irrefutable fact that Indian laws do not permit dual citizenship, but in this case there are two aspects that need to be addressed immediately. Over three months ago the Union Minister of State for Home had announced that the Centre would appoint a special authority in the State to deal with the citizenship issue. Later it was determined that the district collectors would be designated as the special authorities to decide on each case individually. There is now a new urgency to hasten the process of determining whether mere registration of one’s birth in the central registry in Portugal confers citizenship or does citizenship come with securing a citizenship card and passport. The moot point is that while the Portuguese law accepts the registration of birth as proof of citizenship, under the Indian Citizenship Act a person has to give up his or her citizenship. One argument is that unless the person has not given up his or her Indian citizenship he continues to be an Indian citizen. That, however, is only an argument and not a final decision.
Around 27,000 voters, out of a total of approximately just less than 11 lakh, losing their voting rights is a matter of concern. It is no small number and is almost the amount of constituents one of Goa’s smaller constituencies would have. Unless the special authorities are constituted quickly, there will be no finality to the issue. That can come only when the State and the Centre make the effort to solve the issue by taking into account the special circumstances involved in it. It is for the government to assure the people of the State that their citizenship is not at stake and that this is not a political game. Such an assurance should be followed by action that backs the statement for unless that is done, the dual citizenship issue will never be resolved.
