TRS MLA loses citizenship for ‘hiding’ facts

NEWDELHI/HYDERABAD: The Union home ministry on Wednesday cancelled the Indian citizenship of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh on grounds that he had held citizenship of Germany and didn’t fulfil the stipulated norms for becoming an Indian citizen a decade ago.

This is perhaps the first time the citizenship of an elected representative has been cancelled for misrepresentation of facts.

An order to this effect was issued by secretary, border management of the ministry of home affairs (MHA). “Under section 10 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, Ramesh Chennamaneni ceases to be a Citizen of India,” the 13-page order said.

Ramesh, who represented Vemulawada assembly constituency in Telangana, is the nephew of former Maharashtra governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao. Ramesh’s father, the late Ch Rajeshwar Rao, was a veteran Communist leader and five-time-mla.

Ramesh had gone to Germany for employment in the early 1990s and obtained German citizenship in 1993 when he surrendered his Indian passport. In 2008, he returned to India and applied for Indian citizenship, which was granted to him by the MHA.

He won election from the Vemulawada assembly constituency in the 2009 elections to the Andhra assembly; the state was bifurcated in 2014.

Under the Citizenship Act, a person who applies for Indian citizenship should be present in India for at least 12 months before the date of application. Local leader Adi Srinivas, who contested the election against him, complained to the MHA that Ramesh still held the German passport and had gone to Germany within the stipulated period of 12 months.

A committee appointed by the ministry found Ramesh had concealed crucial material facts of his visits abroad during the 12 months immediately preceding his application for Indian citizenship.

The committee concluded: “It is clear that Dr Ramesh Chennamaneni had made a false representation and concealed facts regarding his citizenship application… Thus he obtained registration of citizenship by means of fraud, false representation and concealment of facts and his actions.”

In September 2017, the MHA cancelled Ramesh’s citizenship. He filed a review petition and later moved the high court and obtained the stay order. Subsequently, he contested the assembly elections again in December 2018 and was elected for the third successive term.