MHA Issues Show Cause Notice to Wife of Mamata's Nephew for Giving False Info for OCI, PAN Cards

New Delhi: A show cause notice has been served on Rujira Naroola, wife of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, for allegedly making false representation and concealing material facts while submitting documents before the competent authorities to get her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and PAN cards, officials said on Wednesday.

In the notice, the home ministry said discrepancies have been detected in the declaration of Naroola's nationality and father's name in separate applications for PIO card, conversion of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) to OCI card and PAN card and hence her registration as OCI card holder is liable for cancellation in public interest.

Naroola, an Indian-origin Thai national, has been asked to reply within 15 days as to why she had made false representations and concealed facts. The show cause notice was served by the home ministry on March 29, an official said.

She was issued PIO card by the Indian embassy in Bangkok on January 8, 2010, mentioning Niphon Naroola as her father in the card. She later applied for conversion of her PIO card to OCI card at the office of FRRO, Kolkata, on November 8, 2017, submitting certificate of her marriage to Abhishek Banerjee, issued in Kolkata on February 3, 2013, as one of the supporting documents. However, she mentioned Gursharan Singh Ahuja, resident of Rajouri Garden, New Delhi, as her father in the marriage certificate.

Abhishek is a Trinamol Congress MP from West Bengal.

The central government has also learnt that Naroola had applied for PAN card on November 14, 2009, by filling Form 49A without intimating her real status as a Thai national holding OCI card and mentioning Gursharan Singh Ahuja as her father, another official said.

According to the home ministry, Rujira was required to fill Form 49A to get PAN by declaring herself as a foreigner holding OCI card.

However, as per her Form 49A application, she obtained PAN card as an Indian citizen.

"The central government has examined the matter and noticed discrepancies mentioned above and is prima facie of the opinion that registration of Ms Rujira Naroola as an OCI card holder is liable for cancellation in the interest of general public under sub-clauses (a) & (e) of Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1965," the ministry said.