The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are on the same page when it comes to their views on Nigerians staying in India. The leaders of both the parties in Goa want them to be "thrown out" of the country.
Congress leader and former Goa chief minister Ram Naik not only demanded that Nigerians be "thrown out" of India, but also used a racist term to describe Africans in general.
"Nigerians come here and do 'dadagiri' in Delhi, Bengaluru and the entire country. We should move Nigerians out of here," Naik told reporters in Panaji on Tuesday, the Hindu reported.
Besides using the derogatory term "negros" for Nigerians, he also questioned their motive in coming to India.
"Have they come here to study? Are they really studying? Are they really going to college, schools? This has to be probed. It is very important," he said.
Seven days ago, BJP leader and Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar had made an equally unpalatable comment about Nigerians.
"Goans in general are complaining about these foreigners. We get people from all other countries, but in general the people of Goa are very much annoyed with their (Nigerians') behaviour, with their attitude, with their way of life," Parsekar told news agency IANS on June 1.
"Nigerians create problem not just in Goa, but in the entire country," he added.
Attacks on Africans staying in India have been on the rise in the past few months. The latest was the murder of a Congolese in New Delhi on May 29 over a trivial matter. Masonda Ketada Olivier was beaten to death by three men in south Delhi's Kishangarh near Vasant Kunj on that fateful night after an altercation broke out over hiring a public transport vehicle.
He was staying in New Delhi for the past five years and working as a French language teacher.
This was followed by attacks on six Africans a couple of days later for which five people were arrested. Those attacked included two women and a Nigerian man.
Comments about Nigeria ironically have come at a time when Nigeria has emerged as a critical crude oil supplier. The African country is now the third-biggest supplier of crude oil to India, according to the Economic Times. State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will be importing 3 million tonnes of crude oil from the country, double the quantity it imported in 2015, the ET report added.
