Centre given 4 weeks to decide on Rahul Gandhi's citizenship
What's the story
The Allahabad High Court has given the Indian government four weeks to decide on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's citizenship status. The decision will be heard on April 21. For several years now, questions about Gandhi's citizenship have been a hot topic. In 2019, Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint with the Union Home Ministry, alleging that Gandhi had claimed to be a British citizen in documents submitted to United Kingdom authorities.
Allegations
Swamy's allegations against Gandhi and government's response
Swamy argued that Gandhi's admission of being a British citizen violated the Indian Constitution as well as the Citizenship Act. He further claimed that this amounted to holding a British passport. Swamy told the court that an inquiry notice had been sent to Gandhi by the government over his alleged British citizenship, but nothing else followed as he didn't respond.
Instructions
Court's directive to the Centre
On Monday, the court asked the Centre's lawyer to inform it about developments on Swamy's petition and his appeal to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The bench said their request wasn't to decide on substantial issues of the ongoing case but simply for directions on his representations. "The prayer is not to decide on substantive issues of the pending matter...He is only seeking directions on his representations. Seek instructions regarding the stage of the proceedings concerning the letter," it said.
Investigation
CBI probe into Gandhi's citizenship status
Earlier, the government had told the Allahabad HC that a petition challenging Gandhi's dual citizenship is under consideration. This came during the hearing of a plea by advocate and BJP leader Vignesh Shishir, who has also sought a CBI probe into Gandhi's citizenship. Shishir claimed he has confidential emails from the UK government confirming Gandhi's name in their citizenship records.