New passport policy anti-national: M.T. Ramesh

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Centre’s decision to do away with the police verification on applications for passports will pose a threat to national security, the BJP has said.

State BJP general secretary MT Ramesh said on Sunday that the decision would help fake passport lobbies and anti-national forces. The delay in issuance of passport should be avoided, but this is not the way to go about it, he said.

Fake passport mafias were operating successfully even when the police verified applicants’ details, Ramesh pointed out. It was with the help of such rackets, the anti-national elements were freely working in the country, he said.

The BJP leader said that Al-Badr operative Fahad, who was arrested in Mysore recently, had got hold of a passport from the one of the northern districts of the State. There were more than 2000 cases of fake passports in the districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram alone brought to light by the Intelligence, he said. In such circumstances, the Central should revoke the decision to do away with police verification on passport applications, Ramesh demanded.

The BJP leader also said that the cold war between the Chief Minister of the State and the Ministers on the issue of the ADB loan had crossed “all limits”.

He demanded expulsion of the Minister who had issued instructions on signing the ADB agreement without the knowledge of the Chief Minister from the Cabinet. The BJP would hold an anti-ADB convention in the capital on December 30, he said. Decision on further agitation programmes would be taken in the party State committee to be held from January 5 to 7 in Palakkad, Ramesh said