The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi to provide the “factual position” on his citizenship within two weeks, acting on a complaint by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy. Dr. Swamy has alleged that Mr. Gandhi had declared his nationality as “British” in documents related to a United Kingdom-based company of which he was a director.
Writing to Mr. Gandhi on Monday, the MHA said it had received a representation from Dr. Swamy that a company, Backops Limited, was registered in the U.K. in 2003 and Mr. Gandhi was a director and secretary of it. The complaint said the annual returns filed on October 10, 2005 and October 31, 2006 showed Mr. Gandhi’s nationality as British, the MHA wrote.
“You are requested to intimate the factual position to this Ministry within a fortnight of receipt of this communication,” the letter reads.
According to an MHA official, the complaint dates back to 2015. Asked by reporters about the timing of the notice, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Ministries were expected to act when an MP wrote to them, and this was a part of the “process”.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the question of Mr. Gandhi’s citizenship had been settled by the Supreme Court, which dismissed a petition.
The Congress added that the Narendra Modi government had been silent on allegations about Mr. Gandhi's citizenship for the past four years because it knew the truth.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lost the plot. After four phases of election, it is clear that Modi ji and BJP are hurtling at imminent defeat at a breakneck speed. Consequently, they seek to manufacture one malicious allegation each day. These are rehashed allegations. They had made similar allegations in 2015 too,” Mr. Surjewala said at press conference here.
The allegation is based on one document — the certificate of incorporation for a company called Backops Limited, of which Mr, Gandhi was a director. The Congress released the original document on Tuesday, showing that Mr. Gandhi is an Indian. “He is an Indian by birth and everyone knows about the sacrifices made by three generations of his family,” he added.
The Congress also said the question has been settled by Supreme Court. A petition on the issue came for hearing on November 30 and it was dismissed.
“Is MHA bigger than the Supreme Court? Does the BJP not accept the decision of the highest court of the country,” Mr. Surjewala asked. He insisted that such fake allegations will no longer be enough to distract the voters who are asking the Narendra Modi government about lost jobs and the state of economy. “We will give a befitting reply,” Mr. Surjewala said, referring to the MHA notice.
Priyanka reacts
Reacting to the issue, Mr. Gandhi’s sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “The whole of India knows that Rahul Gandhi is Indian. He was born and brought up in front of them. What rubbish is this!”
Writing to Mr. Gandhi on Monday, MHA director (citizenship) B.C. Joshi said the complaint by Mr Swamy added that in the application for dissolution of the company, dated February 12, 2009, Mr. Gandhi’s nationality was again declared to be British.
