PANJIM: ‘Goans for Goa’ organised an open mic solidarity meet titled ‘Goans For OCI’ to express support for those impacted by the unexpected revocation of Indian passport and the denial of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status.
During the meeting at Azad Maidan, Panjim, activists highlighted the challenges faced by those who have left Goa in pursuit of employment opportunities. They attributed the migration to the government’s alleged failure to provide sufficient jobs in Goa.
The activists emphasised the significance of remittances sent by those staying overseas. They stated that revenue from Goans living abroad constitutes a major financial support system for Goa’s economy.
Adv Sadanand Vaigankar said the remittances mostly in dollars sent by the youth who migrate to other countries are ignored by the government.
“It’s wrong because the remittances sent by them are close to the budget of the Goa government. What the government spends is the money sent by these youth. This should not be forgotten. The decision of the government is not proper. It has been taken blindly,” he said.
Activist Xencor Polgi said the decision taken by the present government is not its own but dictated by someone else.
“The fact is that the government has failed to give the youth jobs. There are many youth who have been helped by their friends in getting a job abroad. They send money back to their home. There is significant contribution of those Goans who are abroad, away from their family,” Polgi said.
Activist Bemvinda Goes asked what will happen if passports of all the youth who have gone abroad get revoked?<“Do you have time, place and jobs for them? The total unemployment rate in Goa is almost 16 per cent. Imagine if all the Goans abroad come back, what will happen. If options like a long term visa or OCI is not given to them then what will happen? If it is not addressed then soon it could spiral out of control. Youth are marginalised like many in the countries of conflict where unemployment rate is high and people do not know where to go,” she said.
Goa Forward Party president and MLA Vijai Sardesai said that he will move a Private Member’s resolution in the upcoming Assembly session to give Goans dual citizenship. The Private Member’s resolution will urge the Government of India to keep the dual citizenship for the Goans, Vijai said.
Presently under the act, individuals who acquire Indian citizenship are not allowed to hold dual citizenship.
GFG convenor Kennedy Afonso demanded that those who had registered their birth in Portugal be given a time-frame to cancel their Portuguese nationality, so they could retain their Indian citizenship. He said that amnesty period must be given to people to choose between Portugal or Indian citizenship.
