New Delhi, June 26 -- A day after the Central Government clarified that a passport has never been considered proof of citizenship, noting the Passports Act 1967 gives legal grounds to provide the document to non-citizens, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday questioned the Centre over the controversy, calling it an "absurd legal paradox" while describing the debate as "fatuous" and urging a "common-sense legislative overhaul" to remove ambiguity.

In a detailed post on X, Tharoor referred to the Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) recent clarification on Passport Seva Divas that an Indian passport is primarily a travel document and not conclusive proof of citizenship.

While acknowledging that the government's position is based on Section...