The people of Goa are currently all at sea, even as the nation is experiencing turmoil and unrest over the government’s moves to implement the CAA and subsequently the NRC. An official State government gazette notification dated August 14 related to National Population Registrar surfaced on Sunday raising suspicion on the motive behind the exercise. The confidence in governments has hit its lowest ebb and is reflected in the fact that the NPR exercise is linked to the ongoing CAA-NRC issue.
A few days back, on Liberation Day, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had tried to assuage ruffled sentiments in Goa over CAA-NRC by stating that special arrangements have been made to ensure that it doesn’t affect Goans. But on Sunday, Sawant struck a hesitant chord at an event in Parra when asked about the impact of NRC on Goa. He stopped in his tracks and said he would have to study the issue in detail. The CM takes it even further on Monday stating that NRC may not be needed in Goa. The NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar too opined that per-se Goans would not be affected, but admits that the State will have to toe the line when it comes into force.
In view of the opposition protests simmering in the background, politicians are giving hopes without any justifiable reasons to back claims. States, by and large, will be helpless because legislations come through the Parliament with a mandate of both the Houses. It doesn’t bestow privileges on States or chief ministers to contradict and breach boundaries of NRC. And there is no basis on which the NRI commissioner is promising to insulate Goans.
Goa will have its fears and challenges, some of which could be distinctly different from other States. The biggest dilemma currently will be for Goans who have availed of Portuguese citizenship and migrated to European countries, mostly UK but want to return to their homeland at a later date. Another area of concern is the vast section of Goans who have Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), an immigration status permitting a foreign citizen of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely. The OCI was introduced in response to demands for dual citizenship by the Indian diaspora abroad, but could this status deny them citizenship rights?
Politicos are speaking in vague tones, and the Central leadership is continually changing its stand ostensibly to douse the fire of resentment and hatred that is piling against the BJP. Otherwise, how does one explain prime minister Narendra Modi’s contradiction of Amit Shah’s vow in both houses of Parliament that NRC will be implemented across the nation?
The PM is only trying to calm the storm. If he claims that there is no discussion on NRC that happened, how did it surface in the first place? Amit Shah has gone to town with his all-India NRC plan and if we may recall it was only last week where he spoke on a television show that NRC is coming soon. In an election rally in Jharkhand, he even set a 2024 deadline for completion of the process. To take it a step further, the NRC promise also surfaces in BJP’s election manifesto of 2019.
Random assurances and promises by State leaders are
not convincing. Goans need complete clarity on the road ahead because it’s about distinguishing between a Goemkar and a
non-Goan.
