Trouble continues to brew over dual-citizenship of BJP Aldona MLA Ticklo

A resident of Calvim in Aldona constituency, Melwyn Fernandes, has now also filed a petition before the governor seeking Ticklo’s disqualification as MLA. Addressing reporters in the presence of his counsel, Radharao Gracias, Fernandes said that the BJP supporters who actively worked for Ticklo during the last assembly elections were unaware about Ticlo’s Portuguese nationality at that time. “We have produced an authenticated document showing when the Portuguese nationality was conferred on Ticlo,” Gracias said.

Admitting that there was ambiguity over the legality pertaining to the conferment of Portuguese nationality on an Indian citizen, Gracias said that “we seek a clarification from the highest authority so that the law is settled.”

It is the case of the petitioner that Ticklo was born in present day Yemen on March 12, 1962, and was conferred Portuguese nationality under Article 1(1)(c) of Law 37/81 on November 27, 2009, consequent upon which his birth was registered in the central registry of births, Lisbon.”Under the current law, Ticlo cannot contest (an election). Article 9 of the Constitution states that no person shall be a citizen of India by virtue of article 5, or deemed to be a citizen of India by virtue of article 6 or 8, if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign state. Certificates obtained by us clearly show that Portuguese nationality has been conferred on Ticlo,” Gracias said.

“It is expected that the governor would expeditiously refer the matter to the election commission which would then decide the matter at the earliest, which is necessary to prevent a foreigner from legislating in the state of Goa,” Fernandes added.