Tharoor expresses limited support for dual citizenship proposal

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said he had taken up the issue of dual citizenship with authorities in the past but did not get much support.

Addressing a press conference here, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said people living abroad must be allowed to keep their Indian passports, adding the issue requires ”more expansive understanding”.

”I had taken up this issue in the past but did not find support on dual citizenship from the present government or the BJP or the previous government,” he said.

”A lot of Indians living abroad may have had to take a foreign passport for reasons like professional convenience, travel, work etc. But their hearts are still here and they still feel an emotional connection to their motherland. We need to find concrete ways of recognizing that,” Tharoor added.

Tharoor, a former diplomat who had earlier served as under-secretary-general of the United Nations, also said the Overseas Citizenship of India was actually a misnomer.

”It is not citizenship, is only a lifetime visa. And as we have seen with the BJP government, even that visa can be revoked by the government. We definitely need to revisit this policy and try and make it more durable,” he asserted.

He said there was need to encourage and permit the country’s citizens to keep their passports even when circumstances require them to take another passport abroad.

”But, we have to find a legal formula to do that,” Tharoor said, adding he would be a voice for dual citizenship in Parliament.

Dual citizenship is not permitted in India as per provisions of Article 9 of the Constitution read along with Section 9 of Citizenship Act 1955.