Rahul Gandhi British citizenship row: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismisses a petition seeking to direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to debar Congress President Rahul Gandhi from contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections after he had voluntarily acquired British nationality, reports said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued a notice to the Congress leader amid allegations by the BJP members that Rahul Gandhi is a British citizen. B.C. Joshi, director (citizenship) at the MHA had issued the letter after BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy complained to the government in this regard. Rahul Gandhi is yet to respond to the MHA notice. Swamy referred to the registration papers of British company Backops Limited in which Gandhi had reportedly declared his nationality as British in the company’s annual returns filed between 2005 and 2006. Gandhi was asked to respond to the MHA notice within a fortnight but he hasn’t responded yet.
On April 30, the Congress had hit back at the Narendra Modi government over questions being raised about Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship. The party called it malicious propaganda and criticised the BJP using the diversionary tactic in the middle of election season to score political brownie points. The Congress also released documents to prove that Rahul had not declared himself as a British citizen in corporate paperwork in the UK.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also came to the rescue of his brother Rahul. Though she said the entire country knows that Rahul Gandhi born and brought up in India, she didn’t say if the Congress chief had accepted British citizenship voluntarily for a temporary period of time.
The BJP had raised objection over Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship and educational qualifications after the returning officer postponed scrutiny of his nomination papers from Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. The party said the Congress President did not have answers to objections raised by other candidates regarding his citizenship. BJP worker GVLN Rao addressing media said Rahul Gandhi’s name was listed as a British citizen in documents related to a company in the UK, hence it was doubtful if he was an Indian citizen.
