Oppn slams BJP Goa govt over OCI issue

Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) recently stated that accepting a “revocation certificate” is “under consideration” for registering an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card, which prompted the opposition parties in Goa to criticize both the federal and state governments.
In its memo dated April 4, the MEA announced that it had chosen to accept a “revocation certificate” as an alternative document to a “surrender certificate.”
But according to its April 30 corrigendum, the MHA is only “under consideration” of this.
“Once again, ‘jumlas’ of the BJP stands exposed with MEA backing out on its earlier memorandum creating confusion over the OCI registration,” stated opposition leader Yuri Alemao. The BJP has a deep-rooted history of torturing and causing hardship to its citizens.
Alemao continued, “After taking over the coastal state in June, the INDIA bloc will address this matter.”
“Time and again, it has been observed that the BJP consistently treated Goans and sailors who were employed overseas like stepmothers. “BJP has consistently belittled and mistreated our Goans who seek employment overseas,” he stated.
“I demand that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who was prompt to thank the Central government after the memorandum was issued on April 4, 2024, should now make the government’s position clear,” he stated.
Following the Lok Sabha election held in the coastal state, Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai declared that the BJP had made a “U-turn” on the OCI issue.
“Now that thousands of Goans are applying for OCI cards, it is obvious that the double-engine government had no intention of helping them in any way. Sardesai continued, “The MEA’s previous office memo, which the Chief Minister had referred to as “great news,” has now been transformed into “horrible news,” with the MEA shifting the blame to the Home Ministry.
“Elections are over in Goa, but the BJP’s ‘U-Turn’ politics are still in place,” stated Manoj Parab, chief of the revolutionary Goans party. It’s an OCI issue this time. Once more, the BJP’s “anti-Goan” stance was revealed. The BJP is only betraying Goa, whether through Mhadei or OCI.”