PANJIM: Close on the heels
of the Election Commission of India (ECI) deciding to delete the names of Goans
who opted for foreign nationality from the electoral rolls, the Congress Party
on Thursday demanded dual citizenship for Goans.
“We would like to demand
dual citizenship for Goa. The concept exists in Pondicherry… the same should be
replicated for Goa,” Congress president Luizinho Faleiro told media persons.
Faleiro said the Congress
will approach the ECI demanding that the voting rights of Goans, who have
registered their birth in Lisbon in Portugal be protected. “There are thousands
of innocent people who had registered their birth in Portugal – a
provision offered by the State’s former colonial rulers to those born before
Goa’s liberation in 1961 and to their children. These are innocent people and
must be given protection,” he said.
In South Goa alone, 25,700
names of Goans who have ceased to be Indian nationals have been deleted in last
five years. The government has now sought details from various embassies in
India of persons who have opted for foreign nationality.
The Congress’ Global Goans
Chamber of Commerce (GGCC) has also decided to petition the Supreme Court
praying to grant voting rights to those people who have registered their birth
in Lisbon.
Meanwhile,
reacting to the ASSOCHAM study on investments, Faleiro said the report has
authenticated that the BJP led government has failed to govern the State. “I am
not at all surprised with the report of ASSOCHAM. They have said exactly what
we had said in the past quoting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report on the
State’s financial position and debt trap,” he stated. The former Chief Minister
said that the current State of affairs is very “frightening”.
The
ASSOCHAM study finds that new investments growth rate has dipped to 9 percent
from over 91 percent in 2015-16 and has suggested that the government take
urgent corrective measures and facilitate ease of doing business to infuse
confidence in investors.
