Panaji: Hindu hardliners have taken their “nationalism” drive to Goa, western India, where they are opposing a federal government plan to grant dual citizenship to Goans.
Goa was a Portuguese enclave from 1510 to 1960 and the government wants to allow Goans, if they want, to possess Portuguese citizenship.
The Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM, Indian language protection forum) has decided to oppose the Dual Citizenship Authority the government wants to set up in Goa.
The outfit affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, national volunteers’ corps) was launched to oppose English as the medium of language (Mol) at primary school level.
“Besides the MoI issue, we have also decided to oppose center’s plan to set up Dual Citizenship Authority in Goa and state government’s plan to revive Fontainhas Festival,” Subhash Velingkar, Goa’s RSS chief, told reporters on June 1.
Echoing his sentiments, Arvind Bhatikar, a staunch Konkani protagonist, alleged that the BJP governments in New Delhi and Panaji are taking up such ‘anti-national’ steps in order to woo minority Christians, Goa News reported.
Federal Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijju had recently announced in Goa that the issue of dual citizenship of Goans would be resolved shortly and the government would set up an Authority in Goa to deal with it, on case-to-case basis.
Thousands of Goans have opted for Portuguese citizenship to avail employment in UK, as a result of which they are losing Indian citizenship and their rights.
Rijju also said the federal government has already received a report in this regard with recommendations to resolve this issue without losing Indian citizenship of Goans.
“We have enough anti-national activities in Jammu and Kashmir and North East with single citizenship. I cannot imagine what would happen tomorrow if dual citizenship is granted to Indian citizens,” said Bhatikar, the retired Indian Administrative Service officer.
According to Velingkar, the BJP government’s journey appears to be an attempt to pull out people from the spirit of nationalism and pushing them into anti-national mode.