Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Feb 9: Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijai Sardesai has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking urgent intervention to halt what he described as the “humiliation and harassment” of Goans whose Indian passports are being cancelled.

In a letter marked “most urgent”, Sardesai pointed out what he termed a “painful contradiction” between the Prime Minister’s Republic Day acknowledgement of Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s Goan roots and the treatment meted out to Goans who had registered their birth in Portugal. He alleged that such individuals are being treated as “suspects” instead of citizens.

“Goans who went abroad did not leave India out of disloyalty or greed. They left because the state and the nation failed to provide them opportunities to earn a dignified livelihood at home,” Sardesai wrote, adding that their families, homes and emotional roots remain firmly anchored in Goa.

Highlighting the human impact of the issue, the GFP chief said elderly parents are living in fear of their children losing Indian citizenship, while families continue to face constant anxiety and uncertainty.

“If India can confidently engage Europe as a trusted global partner, surely India must also have the confidence to trust its own people. Citizenship should not become a weapon of fear against communities shaped by history,” he stated.

Sardesai appealed to the Prime Minister to ensure a “compassionate, permanent solution” to the issue by allowing dual citizenship, so that Goans are not forced to choose “between survival and belonging, between livelihood and nationhood.”