Goa CM Parrikar apologizes for using ‘Negro’ word for African

Goa CM Parrikar apologizes for using ‘Negro’ word for AfricanPanaji: The Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar had apologized for using ‘Negro’ word for Africans on Thursday in one of the answers tabled on the floor of the Houses.

He had been alleged racist slur evoked strong reactions from the members.

He said, “Negro has two meanings. One is about a river in Amazon, and second is (in a) derogatory (sense). For that purpose, if someone is hurt, I apologize for that.”

The Chief Minister had blamed a clerk in the police department for the mistake in the written reply on the issue of number of foreign nationals arrested in the state.

He said, “The clerk in police department does not understand how serious the particular word is.”

Parrikar had referred to an African national arrested at Calangute village on May 8 this year as “unknown African negro” in the reply tabled on the floor of the House yesterday.

CM had then sought to replace the word “unknown African Negro” with “unknown person with dark complexion” after the reference drew flak in the House.

Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said, “A circular needs to be sent to departments asking them to refrain from making such racist remarks. We are a tourist state and such words send negative signals to international tourists.”

He said such unfortunate references create a “bad image” about Goa among the global tourist community over the use of the word in official documentation.

Bureau Report

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