Passport Officer Rejects Hindu-Muslim Couple's Application, Asks Man to Convert to Hinduism
Shaken by the ordeal, the couple has narrated the entire incident to Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Prime Minister’s Office in a series of tweets, seeking intervention.
Lucknow: An inter-faith couple who had applied for their passports in Lucknow, were allegedly humiliated and shamed by a passport officer before he rejected their application. The couple later tweeted their ordeal to Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Prime Minister’s Office and sought their intervention.
Mohammad Anas Siddiqui, who married Tanvi Seth in 2007 in Lucknow and has a six-year-old daughter, applied for both of their passports on June 19 and took an appointment for June 20 at the Passport Office in Lucknow.
On the day of the appointment, the couple cleared the first two stages of the interview at counters A and B but problem started at counter C where one has to interact with an official.
Speaking to News18, Anas said, “My wife’s turn came before me and as soon as she reached counter C5, an officer named Vikas Mishra started to go through her documents. When he read the spouse’s name as Mohd Anas Siddiqui, he started shouting at her and said that she should not have married me. My wife broke into tears, after which Mr Mishra said that she should get all the documents corrected with a changed name.”
“My wife, Tanvi, said that we don’t want to change the name and our family doesn’t have a problem with our names. Then the passport officer asked her to go to the APO office and that he is sending her file to the APO. Mr Mishra then called me and started humiliating me. He said that I will have to convert to Hinduism else my marriage won’t be accepted. He asked, 'You have to take the 'pheras' and get converted to our religion, will you do so?'” narrated an angry Anas, who is working with a multi-national company along with his wife in Noida.