Vanuatu PM cancels ex-IPL chief Lalit Modi's passport, says 'citizenship is a privilege, not a right'

On Monday, Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat ordered the country’s Citizenship Commission to cancel former Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi’s Vanuatu passport. The order came days after Modi applied with the Indian High Commission in London to surrender his Indian passport.

According to a News18 report, Neeta Bhushan – India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, along with a delegation from a few other island nations, played a crucial role in getting Lalit Modi’s Vanuatu passport cancelled.

In his order to the citizenship commission, Napat accused the fugitive businessman of using the South Pacific Island nation’s citizenship to evade extradition. “I have instructed the Citizenship Commission to immediately begin proceedings to cancel Lalit Modi ’s Vanuatu passport,” PM Napat said in an official statement.

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“I have been made aware in the past 24 hours that Interpol twice rejected Indian authorities’ requests to issue an alert notice on Mr Lalit Modi due to lack of substantive judicial evidence. Any such alert would have triggered an automatic rejection of Mr Modi’s citizenship application,” the statement further reads.

‘Privilege, not a right’

The PM mentioned that Modi’s application underwent the standard background check, and nowhere was it mentioned that he is facing criminal charges. Napat concluded his statement by saying citizenship to the island is ‘a privilege, not a right’.

The former IPL chief is wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies in connection with his alleged involvement in the embezzlement of crores of rupees during his stint as the top boss of the IPL. On March 7, Modi applied to surrender his Indian passport.

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The development was later confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Modi left India in 2010, and he was later learnt to have been living in London.

“He has made an application for surrendering his passport in the high commission of India, London," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, confirming the news.

“The same will be examined in light of extant rules and procedures. We are also given to understand that he has acquired citizenship in Vanuatu. We continue to pursue the case against him as required under law," he added.

With inputs from agencies.