Panel notice to Rahul Gandhi over dual nationality

The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha, headed by veteran BJP MP L.K. Advani, has issued notice to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on his alleged dual nationality issue, BJP MP Arjun Ram Meghwal said on Monday.

“The Ethics Committee has served Rahul Gandhi a notice and will act on the matter only after a reply from the Congress member,” Mr Meghwal told reporters.

“Rahul Gandhi has been issued notice to seek his response to why he declared himself a British citizen. The complaint was received by the Speaker (Sumitra Mahajan) and she has forwarded the complaint to the Ethics Committee,” said Mr Meghwal, a member of the panel.

In response, the Congress said Mr Gandhi’s Indian nationality can never be questioned. “The matters being examined by a parliamentary panel or any decision on this should be considered confidential. But Mr (Rahul) Gandhi need not prove his credentials as an Indian,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.

Meanwhile, Mr Gandhi said the British citizenship row would be dealt with in Parliament. “The BJP has a habit of spreading lies. We will deal with it in Parliament,” Mr Gandhi, who was on a day’s visit to Chhattisgarh to pay respect to 18th-century Satnami saint Guru Ghasidas at his sacred birthplace at Garodpuri Dham in Balod Bazar district, nearly 135 km from here, told reporters. He, however, refused to speak on the controversy further.

Mr Surjewala said the government was trying to malign the image of the Congress and counselled that the government should instead focus on bringing back to the country the likes of liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, however, said the Congress needs to clarify the matter.

The 15-member committee headed by Mr Advani includes Arjun Meghwal, Kariya Munda (both BJP), B. Mahtab (Biju Janata Dal), Ninong Ering (Congress) and Akshay Yadav (Samajwadi Party).