Citizenship status of author of TIME article on PM Modi revoked

Writer Aatish Taseer, who had authored the Time magazine cover story which called Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘India's divider in chief,’ has been stripped of his Overseas Citizenship of India status.

According to the Union Home Ministry, this was done as he had not complied with "very basic requirements" and concealed the fact that his late father was of Pakistani origin. "Mr Aatish Ali Taseer, while submitting his PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) application, concealed the fact that his late father was of Pakistani origin," Home Ministry spokesperson Vasudha

Gupta tweeted.

The writer happens to be son of Indian journalist Tavleen Singh – a Sikh -and late Pakistani politician and businessman Salmaan Taseer. The ministry has disputed the claim that the move was linked to the story published in the Time magazine and dubbed it a "complete misrepresentation and devoid of any facts".

The UK-born writer, however, countered the ministry, saying he had not been given enough time to respond to the charges. ""This is untrue. Here is the Consul General's acknowledgment of my reply. I was given not the full 21 days, but rather 24 hours to reply. I've heard

nothing from the ministry since," he tweeted.

The Time magazine cover story was published after the national election earlier this year; it had asked whether India can "endure five more years of PM Modi’s government". Stating that "the world's biggest democracy is more divided than ever," he had also referred to mob lynching, the appointment of Yogi Adityanath as Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister and the BJP's decision to field Malegaon blasts accused Pragya Singh Thakur.

The BJP had called the article an attempt to malign PM Modi's image and had accused the author of pursuing Pakistan's agenda. PM Modi too responded days later. "Time magazine is foreign, the writer has also said he comes from a Pakistani political family. That is enough for his credibility," the prime minister had said.