Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has written to his West Bengal counterpart Suvendu Adhikari, urging the restoration of the passport of senior journalist and former editor of The Telegraph, R Rajagopal. The passport renewal was reportedly delayed due to an adverse police verification report from Kolkata Police, linked to the deletion of Rajagopal's name from the electoral rolls.
Chief Minister's Appeal
In a statement posted on X, Satheesan said he requested Adhikari to personally intervene in the matter. "I have written to the Chief Minister of West Bengal requesting his urgent intervention in the reported denial of passport renewal to renowned journalist R. Rajagopal. According to reports, his passport renewal has been held up following an adverse police verification report from the Kolkata Police. I sincerely hope the matter is examined fairly and resolved," he wrote.
In his letter, Satheesan highlighted that Rajagopal is a Malayali journalist who served as editor of the Kolkata-based national daily for over three decades. He is the son of Professor V Ramadas, former state secretary of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi in Kerala. The adverse report stemmed from the deletion of his name from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) earlier this year. While Rajagopal has challenged the deletion before the appropriate tribunal, the police report has delayed the passport renewal. The Regional Passport Office scheduled an appointment for July 17, preventing him from traveling to California for his daughter's wedding.
Political Reactions
Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, called the development shocking and alleged that Rajagopal may have been targeted for his criticism of the BJP. "If this is the experience of a journalist of Rajagopal's stature, one can only imagine the plight of ordinary citizens," he said in a social media post. Vijayan accused the Centre of using SIR as a tool to selectively disenfranchise citizens.
Rajagopal himself wrote in a column that like nearly 27 lakh other residents of West Bengal, he was excluded due to "logical discrepancies." No reason was given despite submitting his matriculation certificate, and his appeal is pending before a tribunal. He noted that June 27 marked 100 days since his biometrics for passport renewal were taken, and the passport authority informed him that Kolkata Police sent an adverse report citing the voters' list deletion.
Editors Guild Condemns Incident
The Editors Guild of India condemned the incident, stating, "Rajagopal's case highlights the misery that millions of Indians are being put through because of the SIR exercise. If an influential public figure like Rajagopal could be stripped of his voting rights, the plight of ordinary Indians was likely to be far worse."
