Election Commission officials on Thursday clarified that Indian passports continue to be among the 12 valid supporting documents required by voters to prove their eligibility to be on the voters' list under the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls. According to reports from Business Standard, this clarification came in response to a query following a controversy that arose after the Ministry of External Affairs stated that a passport is not proof of citizenship, referencing the Passport Act of 1967.
Government sources have underlined that a passport has never been considered proof of citizenship, and there has been no new policy regarding this document implemented by the Modi government in the past 12 years. As reported by Business Standard, officials emphasized that there has been no change in the document's status for electoral verification purposes. The Ministry of External Affairs' recent statement regarding passports not being proof of citizenship has created some confusion among voters regarding their eligibility documents.
During the Bihar SIR, Assam's special revision, and subsequent phases of poll roll revision, passports have consistently been listed as one of the 12 documents that individuals can submit when applying to register or maintain their status on the electoral rolls. According to Business Standard, the electoral registration officer examines one of the indicative documents to decide whether a person is eligible to be on the voters' list. An official stated that 'passport was and continues to be one of the documents to establish identity' and confirmed that 'there is no change' in the document's status for electoral purposes.
