MHA rejects TRS MLA’s appeal against citizenship cancellation

Ramesh, MLA from Vemulawada in north Telangana, had appealed to the ministry against the order. Sources said the ministry was not convinced and rejected his appeal.

Ramesh had told The Indian Express in September, “There are certain technical grounds on which the citizenship has been cancelled but I will give all information and appeal for review. For instance, the rule that a person has to live continuously for 365 days to be eligible for Indian citizenship came only after I was granted it (German citizenship). It now cannot be the basis for cancelling my citizenship. I have already given up my German citizenship. I have 30 days before being barred as an MLA.”

Ramesh had migrated to Germany in 1993. He married a German national and after getting German citizenship had renounced his Indian citizenship. The TRS leader maintains that he returned to India in 2009 and had applied for Indian citizenship, which was granted on February 3, 2009. He contested 2009 elections of unified Andhra Pradesh on a TDP ticket and won, but resigned in favour of Telangana statehood and joined the TRS. He won the by-election in July 2010.

In August last year, the Supreme Court had asked MHA to look into the issue.