Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala chief minister V D Satheesan on Monday sought the intervention of his West Bengal counterpart Suvendu Adhikari over the delay in renewing the passport of senior Malayali journalist and former The Telegraph editor R Rajagopal, reportedly as his name was deleted from the electoral roll during special intensive revision (SIR).In the letter to Adhikari, Satheesan said he was writing to draw attention to the case of Rajagopal Ramadas, whose passport renewal application was reportedly held up after an adverse verification report from Kolkata Police.“I understand that the adverse report is based on the deletion of his name from the electoral roll under SIR,” Satheesan wrote. He noted that while the electoral issue was being pursued through the appropriate appellate process, the police verification report resulted in a delay in renewing Rajagopal’s passport.Describing Rajagopal as a distinguished journalist based in Kolkata, Satheesan said he had enjoyed a career spanning over 30 years, including as editor of The Telegraph. He urged West Bengal CM to intervene and ensure that the passport renewal process wasn’t adversely affected while the electoral dispute was being resolved.Meanwhile, opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan also criticised the reported refusal to renew Rajagopal’s passport, calling the authorities’ action “shocking” and expressing concern over its implications for ordinary citizens.In a statement, Vijayan said Rajagopal’s passport renewal application was rejected because his name was missing from the electoral roll after it was deleted during SIR exercise in March in Kolkata’s Ballygunge assembly constituency.According to Vijayan, Rajagopal was among nearly 2.7 million voters whose names were removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal and had challenged the deletion before the tribunal.Although he was asked to appear at the regional passport office, he was given an appointment only on July 17, preventing him from travelling to California to attend his daughter’s wedding.“If this is the experience of a globally respected editor, one can only imagine the plight of ordinary citizens,” said Vijayan, alleging that Rajagopal may have been targeted for his criticisms of BJP.Vijayan alleged that BJP was using SIR process to advance a “divisive Hindutva agenda” and selectively exclude citizens.He asserted that citizenship shouldn’t be determined through SIR process and called on all those who valued democracy to protest what he described as an attack on citizens’ rights.Wake Up Keralam, a group of intellectuals from the state, has also strongly condemned Rajagopal’s arbitrary removal from the electoral rolls and the subsequent denial of his passport renewal.
