OLD GOA
The Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) has stated the issue of non-renewal of Indian passports of those who registered their birth in Portugal is deliberately raised by the BJP government with an eye on Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing reporters in Panaji on Friday, RGP’s South Goa president Rupert Pereira questioned how come the issue gets suddenly raised only now when it never cropped up since Liberation.
“It appears that the government has raised the issue with an eye on Lok Sabha polls. It is like putting fire and then saying that they will extinguish it,” Pereira opined.
He further alleged that whenever elections approach, the government has the habit of creating issues to divert the minds of the voters from the real issues.
“The Goans are availing the Portuguese passport to improve their economic condition as better employment opportunities are lacking in Goa,” Pereira stated while adding that these Goans don’t want to permanently settle in Europe but want to return to Goa due to which they have the OCI facility.
“However, with the latest diktat the Goans will not be able to get OCI and they will become strangers in their own land,” Pereira stated while demanding that the government should first clarify on why such action is being taken.
“The government has to clarify to the affected Goans and also the MPs should vociferously raise the issue in the Parliament so that there is clarity on the issue,” he stated while slamming the MPs for their silence on the issue.
Pereira further stated that the RGP will raise the issue with the authorities concerned to ensure that the affected Goans get relief.
