New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) The Congress leaders on Thursday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the passport has never been proof of citizenship, asking the Centre to clarify its position as such a declaration will lead to “confusion” among people.

The issue gained attention after an MEA official said on Wednesday at a Passport Seva Divas event that a passport should primarily be understood as a document for travel.

Speaking to IANS, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said: “One thing is very clear in the Passport Act: a passport can be denied if a person is not a citizen. If non-citizenship is a ground for refusing a passport, then the issuance of a passport must have some relevance to citizenship as well.”

However, he acknowledged that the formal determination of citizenship is governed by the Citizenship Act.

“Still, if both laws are read together, a passport must carry some significance… I do not think an ordinary person would easily understand the distinction,” he said.

Khurshid also said that simply making such an announcement is not enough.

“The Union government should explain why this clarification is being issued now and why it is being stated formally after so many years,” he added.

Echoing similar view, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said: “I think it is for the MEA to clarify themselves. They should say that has the Union government issued passports to citizens of foreign countries? As per the Passport Act, a passport is issued to bonafide Indian citizens only and therefore it is a proof of Indian citizenship but if it is not then they should clarify.”

Gogoi added that he has witnessed the National Register of Citizens (NRC) from close quarters in Assam and the “troubles” that common people went through to prove citizenship.

“One by one various documents, voter ID, PAN, Aadhar and now passport…from time to time, the Union government is saying that these are not sources of citizenship. Maybe the Union government feels that only if you are listed in the NRC, that is a proof of citizenship,” he told reporters.

According to Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar, there are several legal documents that can be used to establish citizenship, and a passport is one of them.

“It is not the only proof. Along with a passport, documents such as an Aadhaar card or a voter ID card are also considered. A passport is issued only to a person who is a citizen of the country. Therefore, I do not understand why such statements are being made, why there is so much discussion around it, or why objections are being raised,” he told reporters.

Wadettiwar asserted: “All this only creates confusion among people and contributes to misunderstanding.”

–IANS

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