The passport is a document issued by the government to “regulate the departure” of Indian citizens from the country and is issued after due verification, the external affairs ministry said on Tuesday against the backdrop of a debate whether passports can be used to verify citizenship.The earlier remarks by the officials of the external affairs ministry that the passport is not a document of citizenship had triggered an intense debate. (Representative Photo/iStock)Senior officials of the external affairs ministry had described the passport as a travel document, and not a document of citizenship, at a briefing on the occasion of Passport Seva Divas on June 24. The officials responded to a question on whether the passport can be used as proof of citizenship for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway in several states by saying that the document is only meant for Indians to transit and travel through foreign ports and territories.When external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked for a clarification on this matter at a regular media briefing, he replied: “An Indian passport is a document that, as per The Passports Act, 1967, is issued by the government of India to regulate the departure from India of citizens of India.“It is issued after due verification laid out by an established process. The issue of passports to Indian citizens or any other individual is governed by The Passports Act, 1967 and Passports Rules, 1980.”Jaiswal noted that less than 8% of Indian citizens currently have a passport.Also Read:India summons senior-most Iranian diplomat after Indian sailor killed in Strait of HormuzThe earlier remarks by the officials of the external affairs ministry that the passport is not a document of citizenship had triggered an intense debate, including on social media, and the government was criticised on the matter by the opposition Congress party.At the time, government officials had also pointed to a judgement of the Bombay high court in 2013 that made it clear the passport is not proof of citizenship. They further noted that a provision of The Passports Act allowed the Central government to issue a passport “to a person who is not a citizen of India” if it is necessary to do so in the public interest.