Rahul citizenship: Rajnath soft-pedals notice issue

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday asserted that the notice issued by his Ministry to Congress President Rahul Gandhi regarding his citizenship was a "normal process" undertaken in response to a question raised by a Member of Parliament.

The Home Ministry on April 29 issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi to clarify his nationality within a fortnight, after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy alleged that he was a British national.

"It is essential to respond to a question raised by an MP. If an MP writes to a Ministry, then necessary proceedings are undertaken by that Ministry. It is not a big development, it is a normal process," Singh said.

Asked about the timing of the notice during the Lok Sabha elections, he said Swamy had written to the Home Ministry on several occasions and that the action was a follow-up of his complaint against the Congress President as per procedure.

The BJP MP had filed a complaint to the Home Ministry on September 21, 2017 alleging that Rahul Gandhi served as a director and secretary in Backops Ltd, a firm registered at 51 Southgate Street, Winchester, Hampshire, the UK, since 2003.

Citing documents of Backops Ltd, Swamy also complained to the Ministry that Rahul Gandhi represented himself as a British national in the company's annual returns filed on October 10, 2015.

--IANS

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