PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant today handed over the Indian citizenship certificate to a 43-year-old Pakistani Christian under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, making him the second such person from the coastal state to get citizenship.
Shane Sebastian Pereira, born in Karachi Pakistan, entered India in December 1981, within five months after he was born in August. He completed his school education in Goa and has since been a long-standing resident of the state. Pereira has rightfully benefited from the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.
Presented the Citizenship Certificate to Shri Shane Sebastian Pereira and his family under the Citizenship Amendment Act.
"I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Shri Shane Sebastian Pareira on formally becoming an Indian citizen. I also take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji and Union Home Minister Amit Shah Ji for their visionary leadership in enacting and implementing this significant legislation ensuring justice," Sawant said.
Sawant today handed over an Indian citizenship certificate to Shane and his family.
Shane held Pakistani citizenship while living in India. After the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019, which provides citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, Pereira applied for Indian citizenship and received his certificate in just three months.
Shane Pereira said "I have been living in Goa for the last 43 years, but I was still holding Pakistani citizenship. I had tried to get Indian citizenship earlier, but it wasn't easy. I even married an Indian citizen, thinking that would help, but that didn't work out either".
He further mentioned that after the CAA came into effect in 2019, he applied for citizenship once again, and within three months, he received his Indian citizenship. "I am grateful to the central government and to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for making this possible. It is a dream come true after so many years," he added.
