Herald: The fact is that all Goans registered in Portugal as citizens may lose their Indian citizenship. This is a can of worms that you may be responsible for bursting open. Your thoughts?

Valanka Alemao: The media seems to have waged war on Valanka and Churchill Alemao and seems to have got on to the wrong end of the whole issue. In the fair interest of Goans, I moved court challenging Caitu’s citizenship and his right to contest polls in Goa and hold an MLA seat or any position of power under the Indian constitution and my plea is that he should be disqualified. Anything beyond that is a fabricated version doing rounds in the media.

Herald: You’re saying that Valanka is not responsible for this new commission set up to investigate Goans living here but with births registered in Lisbon?

Valanka: The rules clearly don’t permit a foreign national to contest an election in India and be an MP or an MLA and Caitu has his birth registered in Portugal which is wrong and hence I want him disqualified. He’s been supported by the current BJP government and hence all this delay in his disqualification. What justice do Benaulim voters get if he is disqualified as a foreign national? They missed out on a local MLA working in their favour. If Caitu cared for Goa and Goans and didn’t want this to be so murky, he should have quietly resigned, when his Portuguese registration and birth certificate was exposed.

Herald: How do you react with furious Goans who feel you left them in the lurch only for your political aspirations to still be the MLA?

Valanka: Remember in Carmona, Majorda and five other areas, in the past the panch members and sarpanchas have stood to be disqualified on the same basis of being Portuguese citizens and illegally contesting an election in Goa. If I had my birth registered in Portugal or anywhere else, then Caitu and the BJP would go all out to defame me.