New Delhi, December 12
The Ministry of External Affairs today said the lotus being printed on new passports was part of enhanced security features and would not be a permanent aspect.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the lotus was part of rotating national symbols that would be embossed on passports to guard against fake passports.
For instance, after some time, some other national symbol will be embossed a lot of new passports as part of the security features introduced as per International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines.
A day after Opposition members in Lok Sabha raised the issue of lotus being printed on new passports, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said it was part of the enhanced security features to identify fake passports and involves using other national symbols as well on rotation.
Lotus print
- Congress member raised the issue in LS on Wednesday
- Security features introduced as part of ICAO guidelines, says MEA
Raising this issue of lotus being printed on new passports brought for distribution in Kozhikode in Kerala during the Zero Hour, M K Raghavan of the Congress said the matter has been highlighted by one of the newspapers and alleged that this was “further saffronisation” of the government establishment with the lotus being the election symbol of the BJP.
Asked about the issue, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “This symbol is our national flower and is part of the enhanced security features to identify fake passports.”
These security features have been introduced as part of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines, he said.
“Apart from the Lotus, other national symbols will be used on rotation. Right now it is lotus and then next month there will be something else. These are symbols connected with India such as national flower or national animal,” he said. — PTI