Two days after an independent candidate raised objections to the nomination papers filed by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, the returning officer in the constituency on Monday declared his nomination was valid. On Saturday, the election authorities had delayed scrutiny of Gandhi's nomination to Monday.
The objections by the independent candidate, Dhruv Lal, against Gandhi's candidature centred on alleged discrepancies in his citizenship and educational qualifications.
The incident was also played up by the BJP on Saturday, with the party holding a press conference. Senior BJP spokesperson G.V.L.N. Rao had alleged British tax documents had listed Gandhi as a British citizen.
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Speaking to mediapersons on Monday, Gandhi's lawyer K.C. Kaushik declared his client was born in India and had never taken citizenship of another country. Kaushik also countered claims of discrepancies in Gandhi's academic qualifications, noting Gandhi had studied MPhil in Cambridge in 1995.
This is not the first time Gandhi's citizenship has been questioned. Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has repeatedly raised the issue over the years, even claiming Gandhi had Italian citizenship.