NEW DELHI: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday took a swipe at the Centre after the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said a passport is primarily a travel document and should not be treated as proof of citizenship.In a post on X, Owaisi wrote: “According to the govt, no document is conclusive proof of citizenship. By 2030, only one document will be proof of citizenship.”
Image credit: Owaisi/X
Along with the post, Owaisi shared an AI-generated image of a card labelled “Bharatiya Janata Party”, suggesting it would become the only proof of citizenship.His remarks came a day after a senior MEA official, speaking at an event marking the 14th Passport Seva Divas, said that while a passport attests to the nationality of Indians abroad, it is not a document of citizenship.Responding to a query, officials clarified that a passport is primarily a travel document and should not be treated as proof of citizenship. The remarks triggered a debate on social media, with several users questioning what constitutes conclusive proof of Indian citizenship if passports, Aadhaar cards and voter identity cards are not considered sufficient.The clarification reiterates a legal position reflected in past court judgments but has gained attention amid the ongoing debate over citizenship during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.While hearing the Bihar SIR case on August 12, 2025, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi had observed, “The use of Aadhaar while filing claims and objections would strictly be as proof of identity and not as evidence of Indian citizenship.”Meanwhile BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya in a post on x said: “For the “kagaz nahin dikhayenge” brigade outraging over the ministry of external affairs’ statement that a passport is not proof of citizenship, here is a reality check. The MEA has not announced a new policy. It has merely reiterated a settled legal position. Indian courts have repeatedly held that a passport is not conclusive proof of citizenship. The Bombay High Court made this clear in 2013 and reaffirmed the principle subsequently: citizenship is determined under the Citizenship Act, 1955, based on eligibility and supporting evidence, not by the mere possession of a single document.“In India, citizenship is established through a combination of records, including birth certificates, parents’ citizenship records (where relevant), school records, electoral roll entries, government service records, land and residence records, passports, and other contemporaneous official documents. The statutory position is equally clear. Under the Passports Act, 1967, the Central Government has the power in specified circumstances to issue a passport or travel document even to a non-citizen. The law itself therefore recognises that possession of a passport cannot, by definition, be treated as conclusive proof of citizenship, ” Malviya added.“This distinction is neither unusual nor controversial. A passport is an important identity and travel document. It is evidence that may support a claim of citizenship. But citizenship itself flows from the Constitution and the Citizenship Act, not from the possession of any single government-issued document. The outrage is not over a new rule. It is over a legal position that has long been settled by both statute and the courts,” Malviya further said.Several users on X criticised the MEA’s clarification. One user shared an image of an Indian passport showing nationality as “Indian” and asked, “What is this then??”Another wrote: “Passport is not a document of citizenship, Aadhar card is not a document of citizenship, Voter ID card is not a document of citizenship. Then what is??”The Press Information Bureau, in a question-and-answer document related to the National Register of Citizens released on December 20, 2019, had said: “Citizenship can be proved by submitting any documents related to date of birth and place of birth. However, a decision is yet to be taken on such acceptable documents.”