PM

Works in travel & advertising. Loves sports & books. Lives in God's Own Country.

[ParanjoyGuhaThakurta @paranjoygt]

The Telegraph editor’s passport not being renewed in Kolkata

Note from R. Rajagopal
Former Editor, The Telegraph
——-
In March this year, my name was deleted from the Ballygunge constituency electoral roll in Kolkata, apparently because the Special Intensive Revision process could not trace either my name or that of my late father in the 2002 voters' list. My father, a Gandhian, retired professor and former State Secretary of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi in Kerala, passed away in 2016. I remain unable to understand how a conscientious voter like him could have been absent from the rolls.

Like nearly 27 lakh other residents of West Bengal, I was excluded on account of what were described as “logical discrepancies”. No reason was furnished even after I submitted my matriculation certificate, and my appeal is now pending before one of the tribunals constituted pursuant to the Supreme Court's directions. As a consequence, I was unable to vote in the recent election.

More distressing has been the fate of my passport renewal application. Although I completed the biometric formalities on March 19, 2026, police verification has not been cleared because my name no longer appears on the electoral roll. Despite submitting several alternative documents, I have been informed that they are insufficient. In fact, today (June 27, 2026) is the 100th day since my biometrics for passport renewal were taken. I was formally informed last week by the passport-issuing authority that Kolkata Police sent an adverse report, citing the deletion of my name from the voters' list. I have been asked to appear before the Regional Passport Office in Calcutta "immediately" but when I sought an appointment, without which it is difficult to gain entry, the date granted is July 17, 2026.

In between, our daughter, a journalist in California, got married in San Francisco on April 17. Needless to say, it would have been impossible for me to attend the wedding in the absence of an active passport, notwithstanding my possession of a valid ten-year US visa.

For all practical purposes, I find myself in a state of civic uncertainty although recently the government iterated that a passport is no proof of citizenship. Much of my time is now consumed by efforts to reconstruct family records and secure documents dating back several decades….

My days begin with checking my voting right appeal status and then the passport tracker. Then I write to the college where my mother taught in 1965 and to her school from where she passed out in 1959, asking for any document that proves she existed. The school has been very helpful but not the college. Similarly, I speak to prohibition campaign activists in Kerala, running down a list I collected after coming across an activist's name in a group by chance, asking for any news clipping or photographs that show my father campaigning against illegal liquor vends and communalism.

Some close friends and public figures have helped me in all these efforts. However, I am unaware if any media outlet or journalists' association or guild (of which I am not a member) has shown any interest in my situation. A senior journalist reminded me that this situation is by no means unique as "rejection" has been the daily certainty confronting millions of Indians for centuries. I accept that point.

My intention has never been to project myself as a victim. Rather, I have wanted to underline a larger point: if someone who spent his professional life in journalism and edited a relatively known newspaper can encounter such difficulties, one can only imagine what the truly marginalised must endure. Did I approach any newspaper? No, because I do not want it to become an issue concerning me. Do editors and journalists know about my issue? Of course, several do. If they don't, they should not be in the profession, don't you think?

Yet, the complete silence of newspapers on this issue has confirmed my suspicion, now reinforced with personal experience, that so-called mainstream journalism has little to do with my life. I do not "read" any newspaper now. I glance at some but hardly find anything that piques my interest.

[Dhanya Rajendran @dhanyarajendran]

Activist who imported oxygen concentrators to save lives during COVID gets Customs notice.

When the government didn't rise to the occasion, citizens did. Now, they will be punished for it???

Ridiculous

https://t.co/unXJxvWxNF

[Supriya Shrinate @SupriyaShrinate]

निशब्द हूँ

ट्रेन की एक भरी बोगी में इस देश के एक युवा ने तड़प तड़प के दम तोड़ दिया

यह सच कैसे स्वीकारा जाए - यह कितना भयावह है

इतना बेबस तो मे��ा देश कभी नहीं था

[Nehr_who? @Nher_who]

Can’t climb 3 stairs but handling India’s security. A nation with worlds’s largest population can’t find a competent man for the post?

Tragic

[Darab Farooqui @darab_farooqui]

Coal that disappeared:
40 lakh tonnes

That coal is worth:
₹ 16,000,000,000

Read that number again. Now that's what you call a motherload Scam.

[Anjali Bhardwaj @AnjaliB_]

Dear lordships,
- 100+ RTI users have been killed for exposing corruption & thousands attacked and harassed- SC is silent.
- ⁠The Whistleblowers Protection Act passed in 2014 not implemented till date- SC is silent.
But every few days the SC berates RTI activists and calls them names- cockroaches, busy bodies, and today the Court is asking who are citizens to monitor public works! Perhaps your lordships need to be reminded that in a democracy citizens are sovereign and tax payers have a right to know how their money is spent. Courts should deal with individual cases on merit without passing derogatory remarks about those who hold power to account.

[Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs]

WHY are we letting Israeli soldiers destroy every inch of Palestine? Is it ''a war''? Would you accept others do this to you and your home?

Let's stop this genocide together.
Diplomats
Politicians
Judges
Police officers
Journalists
Citizens
Anyone can and must take action.

[Venkat Reddy @Venkat_R_]

One elephant dies, hundreds of prominent people post.
Three Indians died, not a single one posts.

[Ebrahim Zolfaghari ⚙️ @IranianWarF]

800,000 dead in Gaza.

[Sanjeev Gupta @sanjg2k1]

Leaving aside the politics of @BJP4India and @INCIndia, the case of Meenakshi Natarajan represents a complete travesty of justice and fair play by the entire system, cutting across all pillars of democracy.

✅ The Returning Officer rejected her nomination in blatant violation of Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, read with Section 210 & 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

✅ On 11.06.2026, despite fervent pleas made by @DrAMSinghvi, @ECISVEEP sat on the judgment, and the Supreme Court declined to intervene even for a day till proper hearing. With no interim order by the Apex Court or the ECI, the Returning Officer declared the result!

✅ The matter was heard by the Supreme Court this forenoon. However, without examining the apparent illegality in the Returning Officer's order, the petition was dismissed in terms of the attached order on the ground that Article 329 bars judicial intervention after the declaration of results and that only an Election Petition can now be filed.

✅ While the fate of the case was effectively sealed when the Supreme Court declined to stay the declaration of the result, it was surprising to hear a legal luminary of Mr. Mukul Rohatgi's stature argue that the description of an entry in Form 26 overrides Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951!!

✅ Let me attempt to demonstrate why that contention is untenable. Form 26 was prescribed under Rule 4A of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which themselves derive their authority from the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Yet it was implicitly argued that Entry 5(ii) of Form 26 overrides Section 33A of the parent statute!!

✅ Moreover, even after Section 33A and Rule 4A were introduced in August–September 2002, @SpokespersonECI, through its letter dated 10.09.2012, categorically clarified that Entry 5(ii) covers only those cases in which cognizance has been taken by a competent court. That condition was clearly not applicable in the case of @MNatarajanINC.

✅ Appearing virtually from London, Mr. Rohatgi argument, that a candidate's right to contest elections is merely a statutory right and not afundamental right, may hold relevance in normal circumstances. However, this was no ordinary case. By adopting a perverse interpretation of Section 33A, the Returning Officer descended to the nadir of partisan conduct and effectively denied the candidate the equal protection of the law guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution. In this case, Section 210 read with 223 of BNSS makes it conclusively fall beyond the purview of Entry 5(ii) of Form 26.

I would be happy to be corrected by anyone looking at facts and laws objectively. I am sure that @sardesairajdeep @_YogendraYadav @KapilSibal @adrspeaks @Mukul_Rohatgi @harishsalvee et al will appreciate that, by not intervening in time, #GyaneshKumar led ECI and the top court just let the case shift from Article 32 to Article 329 and the Returning Officer hide under it.

[Rahul Gandhi @RahulGandhi]

After Vote Chori and Sarkar Chori - the BJP-EC jugalbandi has finished the contest before it has even begun with Seat Chori.

Look at what happened in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.

Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan ji submitted every document. No pending cases. The EC cancelled her nomination on a frivolous BJP objection.

Parimal Nathwani ji, the BJP-backed independent, got his own name wrong on the form and skipped multiple mandatory disclosures. The EC gave him an extension to fix everything.

Same Election Commission. Two candidates. One was disqualified without even a hearing. The other was rewarded despite not following the rules.

When the Congress sought a meeting, the EC first tried to evade us. When we finally met, they did not say one word.

Expect to see much more of this - because for the BJP, it is far easier to fix the election than to win it.

[MANJUL @MANJULtoons]

लगता नहीं कि सुप्रीम कोर्ट की हैसियत बची है कि वो मीनाक्षी नटराजन के मामले में समय पर न्याय कर देती।

समय पर छोड़िए, संकेत ऐसे हैं कि न्याय कर सकने की भी ताकत नहीं बची है।

वो बस कार्टूनिस्टों को ये ज्ञान देने लायक बचा है कि कैसे कार्टून बनाये जान��� चाहिए और कैसे नहीं।

[Shinjinee Majumder @shinjineemjmdr]

THREAD w @onkeyta_ & @Holytripper
In WB's Rajarhat New Town, the result in Booth 164 has shocked voters. Several of them told @AltNews they voted for CPI(M), votes which have simply vanished. CPI(M) got only 1 vote in the booth. 88% of voters are Muslims. BJP got 97% of the votes

[Manisha Pande @MnshaP]

Newsclick shut down, journalists lost their jobs - young reporters were called suspects. There should be an enquiry against the delhi police and ED officers in charge and should be made to pay damages

[Dhanya Rajendran @dhanyarajendran]

After torturing him for years, making many many people lose theirs jobs. The ED should be prosecuted for this

[Ashish Goel @ashish_nujs]

Let’s dispel myths being peddled by Godi journalists on outright illegal rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination. The law you need to see is section 33A of Representation of People Act, which embodies principle of right to information or right to know your candidate 1/5

[बघीरा 😺 @LegalAdvisour]

चीफ जस्टिस सूर्यकान्त और केंद्रीय मंत्री अर्जुन मेघवाल बेडमिंटन खेलने 6 दिन के टूर पर लंदन गए है

साथ मे किरीन रिजीजू और कुछ और मिलार्ड भी है

ये सभी ऑल इंडिया जजेज बैडमिंटन चैंपियनशिप 2025 से जुड़े कार्यक्रम में शामिल होने गए हैं

जाहिर है लकड़ी की नाव से तो गए नहीं होंगे..पेट्रोल और डॉलर भी खूब खर्च हुआ हो��ा

अब या तो BJP नेताओं ने नरेंद्र मोदी को सीरियस लेना बंद कर दिया है या फिर

नियम कायदे और देशभक्ति दिखाने का ठेका केवल आम जनता के लिए है?

जब प्रधानमंत्री ने कह दिया था आर्थिक संकट आने वाला हैं विदेश यात्रा अवॉयड करो खर्चे कम करो पेट्रोल डीजल, डॉलर बचाओ

तो बेडमिंटन खेलने लंदन जाना जरुरी था क्या?

और चीफ जस्टिस और बाकी जज लोग अगर बीजेपी नेताओं के साथ लंदन मे ऐसे कार्यक्रम मे शामिल होंगे तो क्या वो उनके खिलाफ कभी क़ोई फैसला सुना पाएंगे.?

सोचिये और बताइये?

[Prof. Mukesh Kumar @mukeshbudharwi]

इतिहासकार रामचंद्र गुहा का पूरा लेख पढ़ गया, मुझे उनके विमर्श में मौजूदा राजनीतिक परिदृश्य की समझ की बेहद कमी नज़��� आई। एक सतहीपन है, जो आम तौर पर दक्षिणपंथी राजनीति के पैरोकार की पहचान होती है। वे दक्षिणपंथी न होते हुए भी उनके नरैटिव के बंधक बन गए हैं।
उनका ये कहना सही है कि राहुल गाँधी में अनुशासन, गंभीरता और सरकार में कोई पद संभालने से आने वाले अनुभव की कमी है।
ये भी सही है कि वे एक वंश परंपरा से आते हैं। प्रियंका के आने से ये वंशवाद और मज़बूत हुआ है।
लेकिन उनके पूरे लेख में कहीं भी ये नहीं है कि 2014 के बाद की राजनीति किस तरह की हो रही है और आज वह कहाँ पहुँच गई है।
एक भी बार वे नहीं कहते कि हालात ऐसे बना दिए गए हैं कि राहुल तो छोड़िए किसी भी विपक्षी नेता या दल के लिए काम करना लगभग असंभव बना दिया गया है।
वे नहीं कहते कि ये अघोषित आपातकाल है, इसमें सत्ता के हर हथियार का उपयोग किया जा रहा है, चुनाव चोरी हो रहे हैं, न्यायालय से मनचाहे फ़ैसले करवाए जा रहे हैं और एजंसियों का बेजा इस्तेमाल किया जा रहा है।
वे ये भी नहीं देख पा रहे कि क���र्पोरेट ने कैसे सत्ता से साठ-गाँठ कर ली है और वह विपक्षी दलों को बहुत कम चंदा दे रहा है।
न तो उन्हें संसदीय राजनीति का महापतन दिख रहा है और न ही हिंदू मुसलमान की विनाशकारी राजनीति दिखलाई पड़ रही है।
वे ये भी नहीं देखते कि नीतीश कुमार, ममता बैनर्जी और केजरीवाल जैसे विपक्षी नेताओं की दृष्टि कितनी सीमित है और वे किस हद तक स्वार्थी राजनीति के चंगुल में फँसे हुए हैं।
ये दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है कि इतन��� प्रतिष्ठित इतिहासकार इतनी संकुचित दृष्टि मौजूदा राजनीति और उसके किरदारों का आकलन कर रहा है।
ऐसा लगता है कि वे बीस-तीस साल पुराने निष्कर्षों के आधार पर ही आज की राजनीति का आकलन कर रहे हैं।

[Satish Acharya @satishacharya]

An investigative reporting which should've been done by a mainstream media house was done by a 17 year old boy. Our godi media is busy protecting the people in power.