Central Government takes the final decision about issuance of Orange coloured passport
Government has scrapped its decision to issue a separate passport with orange colour jacket to ECR passport holders. The current practice of printing of the last page of the passport would also continue. This means that the passport would continue to serve as valid residential proof.
A statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said: “After comprehensive discussions with the various stakeholders, the MEA has decided to continue with the current practice of printing of the last page of the passport and not to issue a separate passport with orange colour jacket to ECR passport holders.”
The government had announced these changes earlier this month, but Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj reviewed the decision after a spate of protests and representations.
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“After comprehensive discussions with the various stakeholders, the Foreign Ministry has decided to continue with the current practice of printing of the last page of the passport and not to issue a separate passport with orange colour jacket to ECR passport holders,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a statement.
The government had said that the new orange passports were meant to protect vulnerable labourers from exploitation abroad, but critics, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, argued that the orange and blue colour coding could lead to discrimination against poor and illiterate workers.
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