Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, requesting his urgent intervention to resolve the stalled passport renewal application of senior journalist and former editor of The Telegraph, R Rajagopal.
Rajagopal, the former editor of The Telegraph, has had his passport renewal delayed because his name was removed from the voter list during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) program, which subsequently led to an unfavorable verification report from the Kolkota police.
“I understand that the adverse report is based on the deletion of his name from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision. While the electoral issue is being addressed through the appropriate appeal process, I am informed that the police report has resulted in a delay in the renewal of his passport,” Satheesan said in the letter.
The Chief Minister highlighted that Rajagopal, a Malayali, is a distinguished journalist with three decades of experience in Kolkata. He added that the veteran journalist is the son of Professor V. Rajagopal, a highly respected public servant and former state secretary of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi in Kerala.
“In these circumstances, I would like to request your good self to kindly look into the matter urgently,” CM Satheesan said in the letter
Rajagopal’s name was removed from the voter list during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The Kolkata Police reportedly issued an unfavourable police verification report purely because his name no longer appeared on the electoral rolls. Even though Rajagopal provided alternate identity verification documents, the passport office flagged them as insufficient. As his passport was not renewed in time, Rajagopal was prevented from travelling to California to attend his daughter’s wedding.
Rajagopal originally made the revelation by writing a detailed note shared on social media. He
highlighted that he is among 27 lakh West Bengal residents excluded due to “logical discrepancies”. He publicly questioned how marginalized citizens could cope if an editor of a major newspaper faces such “civic uncertainty”.
He clarified that his goal was not to play the victim. Instead, he wanted to use his public platform to highlight the immense hardships ordinary, marginalized citizens must face when hit by the same bureaucratic issue