The multiple passport issue of Rahul Gandhi comes to haunt him at the most inopportune moment as Amethi Returning Officer postpones scrutiny of his application

Congress President Rahul Gandhi is now in trouble over his self declared British Citizenship in the United Kingdom (UK) Company Registry in 2004 and his usage of curious name Raul Vinci in his Cambridge University Certificate. Based on the complaint by an Independent candidate Dhruv Lal, Amethi Returning Officer Ram Manohar Mishra on Sunday has ordered the postponement of scrutiny of Rahul Gandhi’s nomination papers to April 22[1].

The mystery behind using Raul Vinci solved

A retired diplomat, who now lives in Chennai, told PGurus that he was directed in early 1994 by the External Affairs Minister (obviously under the instructions of Sonia Gandhi) to issue a passport to Rahul Gandhi in the name of Raul Vinci. Those days Rahul was pursuing his studies abroad. The officers reminded that Rahul Gandhi already has an Indian passport in his original name, the issue of a second passport was illegal. “But we are asked to just OBEY the ORDERS,” said the retired diplomat, who was in charge of the issue of passports.

“The passport was issued in the name of Raul Vinci with the same date of birth of Rahul Gandhi in 48 hours and delivered to Sonia’s Gandhi’s home. As soon as after the passport was issued, we were asked to transfer all the files in this regard to the Intelligence Bureau (IB),” he said.

“We were told that Sonia is worried about Rahul Gandhi’s security in London and wanted a pseudo name. This was not an excuse and it is still a mystery,” added the diplomat who later became Ambassador in many countries.

He also disclosed to PGurus that in mid-2018, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and IB officers met him to know the reason behind the issue of illegal second passport to Rahul Gandhi in the name of Raul Vinci. “They told me that the discreet probe was due to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s complaint to Union Home Ministry. Being a good friend I alerted Dr. Swamy too about this development,” said the retired diplomat now living in Chennai.

According to the diplomat, Rahul Gandhi used illegal Raul Vinci passport for admission in Cambridge and other colleges abroad and that is why his certificate bears the name Raul Vinci. Rahul also used this illegal passport bearing name Raul Vinci to open bank accounts in London. Vinci is the surname of many relatives of Sonia Gandhi in Italy.

Subramanian Swamy had in November 2015 exposed that Rahul Gandhi had opened an account in 1996 at UK’s Barclays Bank and this account was only closed in December 2014, six months after BJP Government came to power.

“With this letter, I am enclosing some bank records of the Barclays Bank which shows that on page 5, a Raul Vinci having the same date of birth as that of Rahul Gandhi has been maintaining a current account in Barclays Bank bearing No: 504664922071640796.

“The name ‘Raul Vinci’ is widely used by Rahul Gandhi while traveling abroad claiming that it was necessary for security purposes. In fact, he enrolled in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge in the UK under the same name,” said Swamy in his complaint to Home Ministry and Enforcement Directorate.

This bank account was opened on July 18, 1996, and closed on December 10, 2014, six months after BJP came to power. As per the documents submitted by Subramanian Swamy, this Raul Vinci’s address is 2 Frognal Way in London – the same address as that of British citizen Rahul Gandhi in the British Company Register (Companies House). Moreover, this Raul Vinci and Rahul Gandhi have the exact same date of birth – June 19, 1970! These documents expose that Rahul Gandhi is secretly holding multiple passports and his Indian citizenship is mandated to be canceled.

British Citizenship exposed

In November 2015, Swamy exposed Rahul Gandhi’s self-declaration to a UK Company Registry, claiming himself as British Citizen from 2004 to 2008 with two British addresses. Rahul Gandhi was MP from 2004 and he was doing total fraud. Now agencies have found that Rahul Gandhi also filed Income Tax returns in London.

As per the documents produced by Swamy, Rahul himself declared to the British company registry Companies House that he is a British Citizen living at 51 Southgate Street, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 9EH. The records filed by Rahul shows he has 66 percent shares in Backops Limited. He declared another residential address in London, again claiming to be a British Citizen. The second address is 2, Frognal Way in London[2].

Many times Swamy alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra were keeping their Italian citizenship. This was granted to them by Italy as their mother Sonia Gandhi was an Italian citizen during their birth in 1970 and 1972 respectively. Though this was not illegal in Italy, it is a crime in India.

The Parliament’s Ethics panel headed by L K Advani is mum on this issue from November 2015. The panel was supposed to refer the matter to the Home Ministry. Swamy complained to Home Ministry in September 2017, urging to cancel Rahul Gandhi’s Indian citizenship and cancellation of Lok Sabha Membership. But due to mysterious reasons, the Home Ministry has not yet acted[3].

References:

[1] Amethi EC officer orders postponement of Rahul Gandhi’s nomination paper scrutiny to April 22 – Apr 20, 2019, AniNews.in

[2] Mr. Rahul Gandhi, before dreaming of becoming India’s PM, explain your secret British citizenship & Bank account in the name of Raul Vinci – May 10, 2018, PGurus.com

[3] Why is Home Ministry delaying probe on Rahul Gandhi’s secret British citizenship case for the past 16 months? Jan 7, 2019, PGurus.com