New Delhi, 25 June—Even as a number of perplexed voices online outraged at the news about passports not being proof of citizenship, and linked it to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Centre unabashedly maintained that a passport has never been proof of citizenship.
Making a common cause with the millions of citizens on social media and bewildered common men and women on the street, the Opposition today stepped up its attack on the Modi government over the Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) assertion that a passport is primarily a travel document and not conclusive proof of citizenship, questioning what documents Indians can rely on to establish their nationality.
A sense of loss and insecurity prevails among the inhabitants across the country as it is being felt that anybody’s credentials can be questioned by the government any time. Never before, this kind of uncertainty and dispossession has been felt in the country, is the present outcry, said Prof Devendra Shukla.
The criticism came even as the government insisted there was nothing new about its position and said the legal understanding of passports and citizenship has existed for decades.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate questioned the government’s stance, asking what document citizens should treat as proof of nationality if passports, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and voter IDs are all deemed insufficient.
“The Modi government says that a passport is not proof of citizenship. Is India’s passport also issued to non-Indians? Does the police come to conduct what verification before issuing a passport?
Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship; Passport is not proof of citizenship; PAN is not proof of citizenship; Voter ID is not proof of citizenship. So, what is proof of citizenship? Modi’s foot-kissing? BJP’s ID? RSS’s cap?” she wrote in a post on X.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owasisi said the government’s position was creating confusion. “The direction in which the country appears to be heading raises serious concerns. It increasingly seems that, in the coming days, BJP membership could become synonymous with citizenship. That is the impression many people are getting,” media quoted Owaisi as saying.
Referring to provisions of the Passports Act, he added, “Look at Section 6(2)(a) of the Passport Act. It states that a passport can only be issued to an Indian citizen. If a person is not a citizen, a passport cannot be granted. So what are people supposed to make of this situation?… These are the concerns being raised by citizens, and they deserve clear answers,” Owaisi added.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Clyde Crasto also sought clarity from the government.
“The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, now goes on to say that your passport is just a travel document and not a proof of citizenship of India. Earlier, they said the Aadhar card is no proof of citizenship, the voter ID card is no proof of citizenship, and many such documents of the government are no proof of citizenship of India; then what proves you to be a citizen of India is what the government needs to tell us,” Crasto said.
He added, “The BJP-led government in the Centre comes out with clauses to suit their convenience all the time. Don’t be surprised if tomorrow, the government comes up with a clause saying that if you become a member of the BJP, you prove yourself to be a citizen of India,” PTI reported.
Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy also disagreed with the MEA’s position, saying, “That is for the government to determine. There are other citizenship proofs. For instance, the Aadhaar card is there. So MEA has to tell us what is valid and what is not. I do not agree with this,” agency reported.
It would seem that the only proof of Indian citizenship today is to be both Hindu and a BJP voter. Nothing else will do,” Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also hit out at the government. “Which document then is proof of citizenship? BLO can doubt my citizenship Deprive me of my vote. Result BJP wins the election. Over to Supreme Court ” Sibal said on X.
Lyricist Javed Akhtar termed the MEA clarification as absurd. “The Ministry of External Affairs says that a passport is a document travel not the proof of citizen ship. Really ??? . So are they providing this travel document to some people with out being totally convinced that this person is an Indian citizen ?? . It is absurd,” he said on X.
Responding to the criticism, the government said the controversy stemmed from a misunderstanding of a long-established legal position.
“It was not decided yesterday that the Passport is not proof of citizenship. It was not even decided in the last 12 years,” a government official said, adding that the position has existed for decades.
The clarification came a day after the MEA, during a briefing on Passport Seva Divas, said that a passport is primarily a travel document and should not be treated as conclusive proof of citizenship. The remarks triggered criticism from Opposition leaders and fuelled a wider debate online.
Defending its stand, the government pointed to statutory provisions and judicial rulings that it said make clear that passports have never been treated as definitive proof of citizenship.
“The Passport has never been a proof of citizenship. The Passport Act 1967 says that passports can be given to non-citizens. Judgments of the Bombay HC from 2013 have made it clear that passport is not a proof of citizenship,” an official said.
The MEA also referred to Section 20 of the Passports Act, 1967, which allows the Centre to issue passports or travel documents to non-citizens in specific circumstances if it considers such a move to be in the public interest, news agency ANI reported.
Under the provision, the government may issue a passport or travel document “to a person who is not a citizen of India” if it believes doing so is necessary in the public interest.
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