Goa Jesuit chief says CAA-NRC can be abused in state

In his first outright critique of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens by the Goa Church, the head of the Jesuit Mission in Goa, Fr. Roland Coelho, has called for opposition to the CAA, saying the controversial Act along with the NRC was ominous and could be abused in Goa.

"The CAA-NRC can be abused in Goa. Goa has fostered peaceful and harmonious existence between people of different faiths. Tourists often visit Goa because of the friendliness of people here and the pluralistic fabric of this state that makes people feel at ease with one another. This will change," Coelho said in a statement on Thursday.

Coelho is the Provincial of the Goa region of the Society of Jesus and heads the influential Jesuit Catholic order in a state where more than a quarter of population is Catholic in religious orientation.

Coelho also pointed out to strife in Assam caused by the implementation of the NRC.

"On the face of it, the CAA looks like a mild amendment. Combine it with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and it has ominous overtones. The Assam NRC exercise is a case in point where 1.9 million people were unable to provide adequate documentation that the government required," he said.

"A majority of these are Bengali Hindus. Due to the CAA, these Bengali Hindus can get Indian citizenship if they entered our country before December 31, 2014. Not so for the Muslims who also fled persecution in Bangladesh; they are at risk of being labelled 'illegal immigrants' and being sent to detention centres in Assam," he said.

"Goa cannot keep silent and must protest against CAA and protect our Constitution".

Coelho said with the CAA being challenged in the apex court, it was now up to the Supreme Court to decide whether the law fulfils Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh agenda for a Hindu Rashtra.

"The government has not satisfactorily explained why Muslims and Jews have been left out of the CAA. Was this an arbitrary decision? Did the government pass the CAA on the basis of data, or because of the RSS agenda of Hindu Rashtra? Let the Supreme Court decide," Coelho said.

( With inputs from IANS )