Indian journalists condemn 'denial' of voting and passport rights of prominent editor

Around nine million of those were in West Bengal. Rajagopal is among the thousands who have appealed the decision in court.Another phase of the exercise is under way in 16 states and three federally-administered territories.In an article published by news website The Wire, Rajagopal wrote that despite living in Kolkata's Ballygunge constituency for more than 25 years, his name was removed because neither his nor his father's name could be found in the 2002 electoral rolls.The SIR process verifies current voter records against the 2002 electoral rolls, the last time such a nationwide revision was carried out.Rajagopal wrote that his name had been removed despite being a voter since 2010 and serving as editor of the Kolkata-based The Telegraph for seven years."No reason was furnished for my exclusion [from the voters' list] 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," he alleged in the article.He said authorities later told him police verification for his passport renewal could not be completed because his name had been removed from the electoral roll."I was puzzled because I could not find any public document that listed the voter identity card as a mandatory document for passport renewal," he wrote.