Dual citizenship needs expansive view, Congress will take issue to LS: Shashi Tharoor

PANAJI: Congress working committee member and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that though dual citizenship does not find mention in the Congress manifesto, the party will "certainly take it up very seriously" in the Lok Sabha.

Tharoor was addressing a press conference at Congress House in Panaji as part of his Goa campaign.

The country needs to adopt an "expansive understanding of dual citizenship", Tharoor said, to provide an avenue for Indian-origin persons who have an "emotional connection" with India.

"We do need to encourage and permit our Indian citizens to keep their Indian passport even when circumstances require them to take a passport abroad, but we have to find a legal formula to do that," Tharoor said.

"We do need a rather expansive understanding of dual citizenship," he said.

Tharoor further said that BJP displayed its weakness and desperation by arresting Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal ahead of the elections. "In this election itself, BJP is in for some surprises," he said. "Even in the Hindi-speaking states, the feedback is that there is a lot of indifference and apathy, and many have not gone to vote."

Govt has weaponised investigating agencies and is using them to selectively target the opposition parties, Tharoor added.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP also expressed displeasure with assembly speakers, particularly of Goa, sitting indefinitely on disqualification petitions filed against MLAs who defect. "That is not a healthy thing for democracy," he said. "We have to ask ourselves, is the law right and is the law implemented properly and I think we can tighten both," he said.