Mr. Aatish Ali Taseer, while submitting his PIO application, concealed the fact that his late father was of Pakistani origin. — Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) 1573143533000

Mr. Taseer was given the opportunity to submit his reply/objections regarding his PIO/OCI cards, but he failed to dispute the notice. — Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) 1573143534000

Thus, Mr. Aatish Ali Taseer becomes ineligible to hold an OCI card, as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. He has clearl… https://t.co/2UeVq2PhcY — Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) 1573143534000

This is untrue. Here is the Consul General’s acknowledgment of my reply. I was given not the full 21 days, but rath… https://t.co/kleF4Ja8YM — Aatish Taseer (@AatishTaseer) 1573144287000

NEW DELHI: Author Aatish Taseer ’s Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status was canceled on Thursday, following a statement by the home ministry that he had suppressed information that his late father was of Pakistani origin.The home ministry statement came in the wake of reports that the trigger for the action was an article critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (titled ‘Divider in Chief ’) which Taseer had written for Time magazine in May. Later that month, after Modi returned to office, the magazine carried an article by another writer calling the PM a “unifier”.Taseer’s father, Salman Taseer, was governor of Punjab (in Pakistan ) and one of that country’s most high profile politicians when he was assassinated by a bodyguard in 2011 for defending a Christian woman accused of blasphemy. His mother is Indian columnist Tavleen Singh.In his book, ‘Stranger To History,’ published in 2007, Taseer wrote at length about his father and how his mother raised him as a single parent. As social media erupted over the issue, Taseer disputed MHA’s claim that he had been given the opportunity to respond to the clarifications sought with regard to his submissions to the government.The MHA denied that the Time article had anything to do with its action. In a post on Twitter , the MHA said, “Taseer was given the opportunity to submit his reply/objections regarding his PIO/OCI cards, but he failed to dispute the notice. Thus, Aatish Ali Taseer becomes ineligible to hold an OCI card as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. He has clearly not complied with very basic requirements and hidden information.”Taseer put out a part of his email exchange with the Indian consul general in New York on Twitter and said, “This is untrue. Here is the consul general’s acknowledgement of my reply. I was given not the full 21 days but rather 24 hours to reply. I’ve heard nothing from the ministry since.”Earlier on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a media briefing that he was unaware of this specific case. However, he said if an individual was “no longer eligible and if it fits into a certain criterion of that cancellation of an OCI card then the OCI card will be cancelled”.The government’s action was criticised as it came months after the Time article with some commentators saying it smacked of vindictiveness. Officials, however, pointed out that OCI rules clearly state that no person, whose either parent, grandparents or great-grandparents were citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh (or any country the government may specify) could not be eligible for the OCI card. Submitting false information, according to the rules, would lead to cancellation of the OCI card and could also mean blacklisting for entry into India thereafter.Read this report in Bengali