Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.

Accusing Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi of declaring himself a British citizen to float a firm in that country, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that the Congress MP should be stripped of his Indian citizenship as well as his parliamentary membership. The Congress has, however, dismissed Swamy’s charge.

“I wrote to PM Modi on November 12, asking him to initiate steps to cancel Rahul’s citizenship and will ask Lok Sabha Speaker to appoint a committee or direct the committee on ethics to cancel his Lok Sabha membership,” Swamy said at a specially-convened press conference.

Watch Video – Rahul Gandhi Vs Subramanian Swamy: Gandhi’s Citizenship Row

However, the Congress termed the allegations false and said the dirty tricks department of the BJP was resorting to “petty and mindless mud-slinging” as it was “frustrated by its humiliating defeat in Bihar and internal revolt brewing amongst the seniormost leadership”.

In his letter to the PM, Swamy alleged that Rahul had floated a company called Backops Limited in 2003 in the UK, and in the annual return form, he had declared himself to be of British nationality with a UK address. Rahul also held 65 per cent of the total shares issued by this company, Swamy claimed.

“Same facts were repeated, viz, that Mr Rahul Gandhi as having British nationality in the annual returns filed on Oct 31, 2006 as well,” the letter said.

“No MP can incorporate a company abroad without permission and without declaring the same in his nomination form as a candidate for election to Parliament,” the letter added.

Congress communication department head Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “The sole purpose appears to be to divert attention from inner revolt and paralysis of policy and governance being questioned all around.”

About the company’s annual return purportedly mentioning Rahul as a British national, Surjewala said: “Rahul Gandhi has not filed any such return. If somebody has committed an error while uploading, it can be corrected. It is correctable. Rahul has held Indian citizenship from the day he was born.”

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