Shashi Tharoor Calls For Law Amendment Over Citizenship Confusion In MEA Passport Row

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday called for a comprehensive legal overhaul to resolve ongoing confusion over what constitutes valid proof of Indian citizenship. His remarks came amid a recent clarification from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stating that an Indian passport is primarily a travel document and not conclusive proof of citizenship. Tharoor said the issue has triggered widespread public misunderstanding and needs urgent legislative attention.

Reacting to the MEA statement made on Passport Seva Divas, Tharoor noted that the clarification is based on the provisions of the Passports Act, 1967. The government reiterated that a passport does not automatically establish citizenship status. However, the MP argued that this explanation has created confusion among citizens who have long treated passports as definitive identity documents issued after strict verification procedures.

Tharoor pointed out that under Section 20 of the Passports Act, passports may even be issued to non-citizens in exceptional cases in the public interest. Despite this legal provision, he said the distinction is not easily understood by the public, as passports are generally issued only after detailed police verification and scrutiny of supporting documents, making them appear authoritative proof of nationality in practice.

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He questioned the contradiction in perception, saying that the passport has traditionally been seen as the “gold standard” of identity in India. Tharoor asked how a document issued after such rigorous checks could still be considered insufficient to establish citizenship. He argued that this disconnect between legal interpretation and public understanding is at the heart of the ongoing confusion.

The Congress leader also referred to Supreme Court observations that the Aadhaar card is intended as proof of identity and residence, not citizenship. According to him, this creates a situation where two widely used government-issued documents—passports and Aadhaar—do not conclusively establish nationality, leaving citizens in a legally uncertain position regarding their status.

To address this, Tharoor suggested amendments to existing laws to recognise both passports and Aadhaar as valid proof of citizenship unless officially revoked by the state. He also proposed that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) introduce a visually distinct Aadhaar format for non-citizen residents, which he said would help clearly separate citizens from non-citizens, reduce administrative disputes, and bring greater legal clarity to identity verification processes.

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