Accusing Congress
vice-president Rahul Gandhi of declaring himself a British citizen to
float a firm in that country, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has written
to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that the Congress MP should
be stripped of his Indian citizenship as well as his parliamentary
membership. The Congress has, however, dismissed Swamy’s charge.
“I wrote to PM Modi on
November 12, asking him to initiate steps to cancel Rahul’s citizenship
and will ask Lok Sabha Speaker to appoint a committee or direct the
committee on ethics to cancel his Lok Sabha membership,” Swamy said at a
specially-convened press conference.
However, the Congress termed the
allegations false and said the dirty tricks department of the BJP was
resorting to “petty and mindless mud-slinging” as it was “frustrated by
its humiliating defeat in Bihar and internal revolt brewing amongst the
seniormost leadership”.
In his letter to the PM, Swamy alleged that Rahul had floated a
company called Backops Limited in 2003 in the UK, and in the annual
return form, he had declared himself to be of British nationality with a
UK address. Rahul also held 65 per cent of the total shares issued by
this company, Swamy claimed.
“Same facts were repeated, viz, that Mr Rahul Gandhi as having British nationality in the annual returns filed on Oct 31, 2006 as well,” the letter said.
“No MP can incorporate a
company abroad without permission and without declaring the same in his
nomination form as a candidate for election to Parliament,” the letter
added.
Congress communication department head Randeep Singh Surjewala
said, “The sole purpose appears to be to divert attention from inner
revolt and paralysis of policy and governance being questioned all
around.”
About the company’s annual return purportedly mentioning Rahul as
a British national, Surjewala said: “Rahul Gandhi has not filed any
such return. If somebody has committed an error while uploading, it can
be corrected. It is correctable. Rahul has held Indian citizenship from
the day he was born.”
Comments