With the Assembly elections around the corner, veteran Congress leader and former Minister K.C. Joseph on Thursday called for immediate withdrawal of the proposed Nativity Card Bill, mooted by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, warning that it could trigger serious long-term consequences for Keralites within and outside the state.
Joseph said the Cabinet’s decision to grant legal validity to a Nativity Card had been taken without adequate deliberation or assessment of its wider implications.
Kerala, he asserted, is not a sovereign nation but a constituent state of the Indian Union, and any move that appears to create a separate identity framework must be approached with caution.
He likened the proposal to a revival of the “independent Travancore” argument once advanced by Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswamy Iyer.
Citing media reports, Joseph claimed the government plans to introduce the Bill in the Assembly on February 24, have it examined by a subject committee the same day, and pass it the following day without meaningful debate.
He questioned the urgency and asked the government to clarify what additional benefit the Nativity Card would offer when citizens already possess Aadhaar, Electoral ID, PAN cards, passports and driving licences.
Joseph also expressed concern that the move could inadvertently strengthen arguments for tighter citizenship documentation at the national level.
If other states adopt similar Nativity Card systems and prioritise jobs, education and welfare benefits for cardholders, Malayalis living outside Kerala could face discrimination, he warned.
According to estimates, nearly 50 lakh Malayalis reside outside the state, including around 30 lakh in the Middle East countries, with others settled across India and abroad.
A policy that encourages state-based identity documentation could complicate their prospects for employment and higher education, he said.
Arguing that almost every Keralite already holds recognised identity documents, Joseph maintained that the proposed card would add little practical value and might instead create legal and administrative complications.
Introducing such a measure on the eve of elections, he added, is both unethical and lacking in mandate, urging the government to reconsider and withdraw it.
