Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Monday wrote to his West Bengal counterpart, Suvendu Adhikari, urging him to intervene in the alleged delay in the renewal of former The Telegraph editor R Rajagopal’s passport.CM Satheesan writes to CM Suvendu over delay in former editor’s passportRajagopal, a native of Kerala, has been based in Kolkata for over three decades. His father, V Ramadas, served as the state secretary of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, the Kerala chapter of the national organisation commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s life and work.Rajagopal’s passport renewal application has reportedly been held up following an adverse report by the Kolkata Police after his name was deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).“While the electoral issue is being dealt with through the appropriate appeal process, I am informed that the police report has had the effect of delaying the renewal of his passport. Rajagopal Ramadas is a renowned journalist who has been based in Kolkata for the past three decades. He has had a distinguished career in journalism spanning more than three decades, including serving as editor of The Telegraph,” Satheesan wrote in his letter.The Kerala chief minister requested Adhikari to “kindly look into the matter with urgency.”Kerala Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan termed reports linking the veteran journalist’s passport renewal to the SIR process “shocking”.“If this is the treatment being meted out to a renowned journalist, then we can imagine what the ordinary citizens of this country would be experiencing. Rajagopal may have been the victim of retaliation because he was a staunch critic of the BJP. But at the same time, ordinary citizens are being hunted down and their names expelled from the SIR with a partisan approach,” Vijayan wrote on his Facebook account.