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NRC may not be needed in Goa: CM

Last Updated 23 December 2019, 14:47 IST

Under pressure from the Opposition to spell out the BJP-led coalition government’s stand on the controversial NRC and the Citizenship Amendment Act, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the NRC may not be required at all in the coastal state, where nearly one-fourth of the population comprises of minority communities.

Reacting to Sawant’s comment, the main opposition party in Goa, the Congress, has said that Sawant changed his stand because his “conscience” did not allow him to impose the citizenship enumerating exercise, which would cause more harm than good.

Earlier, when Sawant was asked as to when the Goa government planned to implement the National Register of Citizens exercise in the state, Sawant said that it “not be required at all”.

Sawant tried to dodge queries related to a recent notice in the state government’s extraordinary notification, which announced that the dates for the National Population Register exercise in April 2020.

“I am not making any statement... I will go through the new notification and then I will make a statement,” the Chief Minister said.

The Congress reacted with sarcasm to Pramod Sawant’s reluctance to implement the NRC in Goa.

“The CM’s statement that ‘NRC may not be required at all’ in Goa is the reflection of his conscience which believes that NRC would do more damage than good not only to Muslims but to every citizen of the country,” Goa Congress spokesperson Trajano D’Mello told DH.

“The results of Jharkhand in the midst of the protests is a clear sign that the polarisation tactics are not being accepted by the majority community,” the spokesperson added.

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(Published 23 December 2019, 13:49 IST)

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