Vajpayee never gave a 'free reign' to 'scandalous' Swamy: Congress

Subramanian Swamy's name is synonymous with scandal and lies, said Congress leader Pramod Tiwari

Hitting out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy for his campaign against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, the grand old party on Sunday said the former's allegations were not a matter of worry for the party since he was a person known for making 'absurd and scandalous' statements.

"Subramanian Swamy's name is synonymous with scandal and lies. He is known for that and it is his strength. When Atal Bihar Vajpayee was in power, he never gave a free reign to him in BJP for a reason. He keeps making attempts to create sensationalism," Congress leader Pramod Tiwari told ANI.

He added that the law demanded Swamy to prove his allegations first after which the Congress will put up their defence and asserted that the party was proud of Rahul Gandhi and fully supported him.
 

Meanwhile, Rahul has dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an investigation against him, over allegations of violation of Constitution and ethical code on citizenship which disqualify him as the Member of Parliament.

"Modiji is the PM, he has all agencies at his disposal. They accuse me of so many things. Show your 56-inch chest. Launch an investigation against me and if you find anything in six months put me in jail, but stop using your lackeys to throw dirt at me or my family," Rahul said.

Continuing his campaign against Rahul over the British citizenship issue, Swamy had earlier stressed that he had made the allegations only on the basis of proper investigation against the latter and once again asked him to produce documents of his citizenship.

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"We have already done the investigation. We have found out that he has himself admitted of being a British citizen, not once but five times. I have done the investigation and produced it. Now it is for him to say how this British citizenship thing came. I did not make this allegation, I have only brought it to the knowledge of the public of India," Swamy told ANI.

Earlier, Swamy had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan urging her to refer the matter of Rahul alleged violation of Constitution and ethical code on citizenship to the Ethics Committee and disqualify him as MP if he is found guilty.

In his letter to Mahajan, Swamy said Gandhi, as a Lok Sabha member, has violated the ethics code to be observed by MPs and urged her to seek an explanation from him.