Srinagar: Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has reportedly applied for an Indian passport to go to Saudi Arabia to visit his ailing daughter. However, the Jammu and Kashmir government alliance partner BJP has reacted strongly to Geelani's passport move and sought an apology from the separatist leader for his anti-India activities.
The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP has said that Geelani should first acknowledge that he is an Indian and "apologise" for his anti-national activities if he wants an Indian passport, reports said on Tuesday.
"Passport cannot be given to Geelani till he apologises for the mistakes he has committed during the past 25 years. Passports are issued to Indian citizens and not the ones who don't believe in India and its democracy. If Geelani Sahib wants the passport, then has to fall in the line and follow law of the land," BJP spokesman Khalid Jehangir was quoted as saying by the media reports.
Khalid Jehangir further said that if the hardline Hurriyat Conference leader acknowledges that he is an Indian and assures that he will stay away from anti-India activities, then the Government of India can consider his request for the passport.
The Government of India cannot give a passport to a person who spews venom against the country where he lives and enjoys all the comforts," the BJP spokesman further said.
Despite BJP's strong protest to Geelani's application for passport, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party led by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said that it will consider the Hurriyat Conference leader's request on humanitarian grounds.
Besides Geelani, two other members of his family have also applied for the passport.
