PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that he has taken up the issue of revocation of Indian passports and OCI with Foreign Secretary (MEA) and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Speaking to reporters, the CM said he had urged the union home minister to look into the issue of Goans who are facing difficulties in obtaining OCI cards after surrendering their passports.
“Revocation of Indian passports is a long pending issue. There are two issues – revocation of passports and obtaining of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards. Those whose passports have been revoked are not getting OCI cards. To resolve the issue at the earliest, I have taken up the issue with the Foreign Secretary and other administrative staff. I have discussed the issue with union home minister and continuously making efforts to see that the issue is resolved at the earliest,” the chief minister said after attending an event in the city. Last month, the Chief Minister, accompanied by Law and legislative Affairs Minister Aleixo Sequeira, met Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi and discussed the issue of revocation of passport of Goans acquiring Portuguese citizenship and to look into the issue of Goans facing difficulties in obtaining OCI cards after surrendering their passport.
During the budget session of the state assembly, the Chief Minister had assured the House that he will take up the matter of revocation of India passports before the Ministry of External Affairs at New Delhi. However, he had stated that the government cannot stop people willing to surrender their Indian passports to register their births in Portugal as it was an individual decision.
