Online petition demands for separation of Goa from India; Goan patriotic group files Police complaint against the petitioners and portal

Revolutionary Indians, a patriotic group from Goa has filed a complaint against the creators of the online petition which calls to “free Goa from Indian invasion”. The petition started by one Atanasia Lobo is addressed to UN Secretary General and terms themselves as the ‘indigenous people of Goa’ who are ‘living in exile’ and residing in several foreign countries.

The police have booked a case of sedition against Atanasia Lobo and those who have signed the said petition. The police have said that Lobo does not reside in India and they are in the process of questioning those who have signed the anti-national petition and are residing in Goa. The petition titled ‘FREE GOA from INDIAN Invasion & it’s Continued Illegal Occupation against UN Resolution.’ on Change.org addressed to 42 other world leaders apart from the UN has gained 4179 signatures till now.

The petition tries to claim that Goa has been illegally occupied by India since 1961 and that the UN has failed to consider it like the cases of East Timor, Falkland Islands or Kuwait. The petition says that Goa existed as a separate country since 1510 while India was born only in 1947 and had no rights to annexe Goa. It also says that India ‘invaded’ Goa in 1961 and put an end to the Portuguese colonial rule ‘unilaterally and illegally’.

The complaint against the petition debunks all the claims and says that the intention of Atanasio Lobo and others who have signed the petition is to break the unity and integrity of the nation by stating that the state of Goa is not a part of the country India. The complaint also says that the contents of the petition ‘reveals that it brings intentioanl hatred and contempt and it excites disaffection towards the government established by law in India.’

Revolutionary Indians have also said in their complaint that the ‘petition challenges the Sovereignty of the nation and is in the process of inciting other citizens of India to sign the petition and malign the image of the Country on the international level and forum.’

They also call for investigation of portals like Change.org which regularly host anti-India content in the garb of free petitions and making voices heard. “The nature of the content hosted on each of these websites are ex-facie scurrilous, defamatory, prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religions and communities, likely to cause fear and generate a feeling of insecurity amongst the citizens of India and the direct threat to the unity and Sovereignty of the Nation. If such content is allowed to continue to be on these platforms in this form, then incalculable and irreparable damage will be caused to the Integrity of India. The operation of the petition has to be stopped forthwith.”, demands the complaint.

The complaint urges the police to take cognizance of the offense, take appropriate steps for prosecution and punishment of the above persons /entities who have started and signed the petition along with suitable action against the website owners.