HYDERABAD: In an interesting development, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Thursday informed the Telangana high court that Vemulawada MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh is still a German citizen. He is not an Indian citizen.
Hence, he was also given Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status, which is meant for foreign citizens and not for resident Indians.
The ministry’s undersecretary, Ashutosh Anand, filed an affidavit to this effect citing the information he received from the Indian mission in Berlin.
Assistant solicitor general N Rajeswara Rao filed the affidavit on behalf of the central government before Justice Ahinand Kumar Shavili, who was hearing a petition filed by Congress leader Adi Srinivas.
The Congress leader was contending that since Ramesh is not an Indian citizen, he needs to be disqualified as a legislator.
The high court had earlier directed the central government to ascertain the latest status of Ramesh in this regard. It was in response to this, the Centre has now filed an affidavit narrating the information it could collect from the German authorities. The MLA’s counsel sought time to file a rejoinder to this and he was given two weeks for the same.
Ashutosh, in his affidavit, also described the details obtained from the German embassy in New Delhi.
The consular, passport, and visa (CPV) division of the ministry of external affairs contacted the German embassy for the purpose and it said that “a person might hold a German passport. But he or she does not have to be a German citizen. If you want more details about an individual, we are not authorized to give you. You have to follow a legal procedure for obtaining the same”.
The German embassy and foreign office cannot share such information, and advised that existing legal assistance procedures might be used in such cases to seek assistance from the German authorities, Ashutosh said, citing the memo filed by the CPV division.
Citing the information obtained from the Immigration, Visa, and Foreigners’ Tracking (IVFRT) system, the Union home ministry, in its affidavit, said Ramesh Chennamaneni continued to be in possession of a German passport and travelled abroad using his German passport even after acquiring Indian citizenship. The Telangana government had entered into a tussle last month and claimed that in matters relating to the home department, the state must have a final say. The case would come up for hearing after two weeks.