BJP questions Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship

New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) The BJP on Saturday sought to corner Congress President Rahul Gandhi over alleged discrepencies in his election affidavit involving his citizenship and educational qualification.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narsimha Rao said, "Today the whole nation is stunned that Rahul Gandhi and his lawyer Rahul Kaushik were unable to explain some details of Gandhi's nomination papers sought by Amethi's returning officer."

Rao said the questions being raised by candidates in Amethi are indeed very serious, so much so that Rahul's legal representative does not have answers to these objections.

His remarks came soon after an independent candidate, Dhruv Lal, approached the court in Aemthi and sought clarification on Rahul Gandhi's educational qualification and citizenship.

Rao said the representative of Rahul Gandhi sought time for the answers and clarifications, and that he has been given time till April 22, 10.30 a.m.

"Certainly we will want Congress to answer those questions in Delhi today. And we also want Rahul Gandhi to answer today," he said.

Rao sought to know the company in which Rahul Gandhi has invested, referring to that company in his 2004 election affidavit.

The BJP leader said the name of that company is Backops Limited, a company registered in London where Rahul Gandhi served as a Director.

"The official documents submitted by this company to the British authroties are in the form of a memorandum of associations and annual returns period ending August 21, 2005. So documents submitted to the British authrotis in 2005 clearly showed that he was a citizen of UK. And if he was a citizen of UK, then he would have automatically lost Indian Citizenship because Citizenship Act 1955 clearly states that any citizen of India acquring citizenship of any other country automatically forfiets citizenship of India," he said.

Firing salvos at the Congress leader, the BJP spokesperson said, "We would like to ask Rahul Gandhi, were you indeed a citizen of UK in 2005 or earlier or later? And would that not make you a non-citizen?

"And once you lose your citizenship, you are not qualified to contest any election," he said, adding he must come out clearly today and tell people about the real story of his citizenship.

He also alleged that there was an attempt to supress facts.

"In the 2004 election affidavit, there were only two educational qualifications given. A senior Secondary School certificate in 1989 and another, an M. Phil degree, which he supposedly got from Trinity College in Cambridge University in Development Economics in 1995. There was no reference to any other educational qualification in between," he said.

"In 2009 and 2014 affidavits, again there are discrepencies. In 2009 he introduced another qualification, Bachelor of Arts from Rollins College in Florida in 1994. And M. Phil in Development Economics from Trinity College.

"This development Economics in his next election affidavit in 2014 becomes M.Phil in Development Studies," he said.

Taking a potshot at the Congress President, Rao said either he does not remember what he studied or he does not have the papers to show to what qualification he acquired.

Raop said a third objection has been raised about Rahul Gandhi's income and properties.

"He was mentioned as an investor in Backops in UK and he was director in that company. What happened to that income? Has he sold his interest in that company?" he questioned.