Nris In Canada Ask Bjp To Consider Dual Citizenship

Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Canada have written to home minister L K Advani urging the new government to consider a policy of dual citizenship for non-resident Indians (NRIs).

Narendhra Bhalla, president of the BJP overseas wings Canadian chapter, wrote in the letter that Dual citizenship would help both the NRIs and India.

Dual citizenship, if approved by the Indian government, would ensure affinity of NRIs with the motherland, Bhalla said. It will also induce many NRIs to invest their savings in India.

The text of the letter was not released.

There are a number of other sensitive issues that we have discussed in that letter and so it wouldnt have been advisable for us to release it, Bhalla said.

 

The letter, according to Bhalla, details recommendations that were made at an informal dinner meeting that he convened earlier this month. Over 40 community leaders apparently attended the meeting.

One prickly issue the meeting discussed was travel documents for refugee claimants. The consensus was that they are all economic refugees.

Community leaders conceded that on coming to Canada such people often make other claims (political or religious persecution), but they pointed out that they are essentially economic refugees.

In his letter to Advani, Bhalla said that he, on behalf of the community leaders, suggested that these refugee claimants should be given Indian passports and the (Indian) consulate in Toronto should treat them at par with other NRIs and not make any kind of discrimination.

As of today, a refugee claimant is not entitled to an Indian passport. The governments view is that a person who comes here and asks for refugee status makes all kinds of anti-India statements, community leaders claimed. Why should such a person, who leaves the country because he says his life is in danger or that hes being persecuted for his political and/or religious beliefs, want to go back to India? one of them asked.

Another issue they discussed at the meeting was that of law and order, Bhalla said. Law and order has broken down in India and the enforcement agencies dont seem to be answerable to anybody, he claimed. According to community leaders, there is a nexus between some politicians, bureaucrats and criminals in India.

This kind of nexus needs to be broken by the BJP-led government, Bhalla said he wrote in the letter to Advani, especially since the latter is home minister.