CM: MEA will consider passport revocation cert, state in touch

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday that the ministry of external affairs (MEA) hasn’t said that it wouldn’t give Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards to Goans whose Indian passports were revoked, and said that state govt is in touch with the ministry of home affairs to sort out the issue.

Sawant was reacting to the opposition’s criticism over an MEA corrigendum on the issue of OCIs. It previously appeared that the issue of those with revoked passports being denied OCI cards was resolved by the April 4 office memorandum of the MEA, but an April 30 corrigendum stated that the memorandum is “under consideration” in the Union home ministry.

“The corrigendum said that the decision is under consideration of the MHA, but they have not denied (granting OCI cards to those Goans whose passports are revoked). It cannot be said that we have lied to the people. The home ministry has started the process, and a final decision will be taken. We are directly communicating with the MHA, and a decision will be taken as soon as possible,” said the chief minister.

The CM also said that the state is making all efforts to make sure that OCI cards are given to Goans whose passports have been revoked.

The corrigendum issued by the EAM to all passport-issuing authorities in India and missions abroad said that the corrigendum is a“partial modification” to the April 4 memorandum.

“It is under consideration in the MHA to accept the ‘revocation certificate’ as an alternative document in lieu of the surrender certificate in case of Indian nationals hailing from the erstwhile Portuguese territories in India (Goa, Daman and Diu) who have acquired Portuguese nationality and who have been issued the ‘revocation order’ by the regional passport offices instead of the surrender certificate,” said the joint secretary (PSP) and chief passport officer, K J Srinivasa.

Opposition parties have reacted sharply to the corrigendum. “Once again, the jumlas of BJP stand exposed, with the MEA backing out of its earlier memorandum, creating confusion over OCI registration,” said leader of the opposition Yuri Alemao. “Giving hardships and mental torture to the citizens is in the DNA of BJP,” he added.

GFP president Vijai Sardesai too chided state govt: “The earlier office memorandum, which the Goa CM called ‘great news’, has now turned out to be ‘horrible news’, with the MEA passing the buck to the home ministry,” he posted on X.


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