Kerala CM urges West Bengal CM to help journalist passport

Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has formally requested his West Bengal counterpart, Suvendu Adhikari, to intervene in the case of a journalist whose passport renewal has been delayed following the deletion of his name from the state's electoral rolls. The case of R. Rajagopal, a former editor of The Telegraph, has drawn attention to the potential consequences of voter list revisions on other civic processes.

Rajagopal, a journalist based in Kolkata for over three decades, applied for passport renewal on February 27, 2026, to attend his daughter's wedding in the United States. He completed biometric formalities on March 19. However, his application encountered a hurdle when Kolkata Police submitted an adverse verification report to passport authorities. Officials stated the report was based on the fact that Rajagopal's name no longer appeared on the electoral roll of the Ballygunge constituency in Kolkata.

His name was deleted during West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists earlier this year. According to Rajagopal, he was informed on March 27 that his name, along with that of his late father, could not be traced in the 2002 voter list, leading to its...