Wake Up Keralam questions SIR after veteran journalist's passport renewal is stalled

By A Representative 

Civil society platform Wake Up Keralam has strongly condemned the alleged removal of veteran journalist and former The Telegraph editor R. Rajagopal from the electoral rolls and the subsequent delay in the renewal of his passport, describing the episode as an alarming example of the consequences of the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The statement follows Rajagopal's public disclosure that his passport renewal application has remained pending for over 100 days after an adverse police verification report was reportedly linked to the deletion of his name from the West Bengal electoral roll during the SIR exercise. Rajagopal has stated that the omission from the voters' list forced him to reconstruct decades-old family records and resulted in him missing his daughter's wedding in the United States. According to media reports, his name was deleted on the basis of "logical discrepancies" relating to electoral records, a decision that he is challenging before the court. 

In a statement signed by leading writers, academics and public intellectuals, Wake Up Keralam said that the treatment meted out to a journalist of Rajagopal's standing exposed what it described as "deep structural flaws" and opaque procedures in the SIR process. The organisation argued that if an established public figure with decades of documented public life could face disenfranchisement and uncertainty regarding civic documentation, the difficulties experienced by ordinary citizens—particularly the poor, marginalised communities, migrants, women, elderly persons and minorities—could be significantly greater.

The organisation expressed concern that the impact of electoral roll revisions extends beyond the right to vote. It alleged that exclusion from voter lists may adversely affect access to welfare schemes, ration cards and other government benefits in places where electoral records are used during administrative verification. Wake Up Keralam further claimed that prolonged documentation exercises have left many families facing anxiety, repeated visits to government offices and legal proceedings, while living under the fear of losing essential civic entitlements.

Referring specifically to West Bengal, the organisation claimed that more than 90 lakh names had been removed from the electoral rolls and that between 27 lakh and 32 lakh cases remained pending adjudication. These figures have been cited by critics of the SIR process but remain politically contested. The Election Commission has maintained that electoral roll revisions are intended to identify ineligible entries and improve the accuracy of voter lists. 

Wake Up Keralam said that while periodic revision of electoral rolls is a legitimate democratic exercise, the process must prioritise inclusion, transparency, principles of natural justice and effective grievance redressal. It argued that long-term residents should not face arbitrary exclusion and called for judicial and administrative intervention to safeguard citizens' rights to vote and travel.

The controversy surrounding Rajagopal's case has drawn wider political and institutional attention. The Editors Guild of India has expressed concern over the implications of the case for citizens' rights, while political leaders from different parties have questioned whether deletion from an electoral roll can become the basis for delaying passport renewal. Kerala leader V. D. Satheesan has also written to the West Bengal government seeking intervention, and Kolkata Police has stated that it is reviewing the passport verification process in Rajagopal's case.

The Wake Up Keralam statement is signed by noted Malayalam writer K. Sachidanandan, novelist Sara Joseph, poet Kureeppuzha Sreekumar, K. Sahadevan, Dr. S. Faizi, Dr. Kadeeja Mumtaz, Gopikrishnan, Rafeekk Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Haridas Kolathur, Smitha P. Kumar, Sarat Cheloor, Prof. Kusumam Joseph, Rosamma Thomas, Jessy Skaria, Amina Saheer and several other signatories.