New Delhi: French journalist Vanessa Dougnac on Saturday left India saying she cannot afford to wait for the outcome of the legal process set in motion in the wake of a notice issued to her by the government regarding cancellation of her Overseas Citizen of India card.
"Today, I am leaving India, the country where I came 25 years ago as a student, and where I have worked for 23 years as a journalist. The place where I married, raised my son, and which I call my home," Dougnac, the South Asia Correspondent for French publications La Croix and Le Point, Swiss newspaper Le Temps and Belgian daily Le Soir, said in a statement.
Last month, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office served a notice on Dougnac asking why her OCI card should not be cancelled, claiming she was "undertaking journalistic activities without any special permission as required under Citizenship Act 1955 and rules/regulations issued thereunder".
She said leaving India was not her choice and that she was forced to by the government which had claimed that her articles were "malicious" and harming "the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India".