Rahul Gandhi faces disqualification in Amethi for his alleged dubious nomination papers

In a curious twist to Rahul Gandhi’s fight to retain the old Congress fortress of Amethi, an independent candidate has demanded a proper investigation into Rahul’s citizenship, which according to the candidate, is incorrectly written in the nomination papers filed recently by the Congress President.

Dhruv Lal, contesting independently from Amethi, raised objections to the nomination papers as filed by Rahul Gandhi for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. His lawyer Ravi Prakash, as reported to news agency ANI, said, “There are three basic issues we have raised.” One of the issues is the “basis of a certificate of incorporation of a company registered in the UK wherein Rahul Gandhi has declared himself a UK citizen.” Under the Representation of People Act, a non-Indian citizen is barred from contesting elections in the country.

Ravi Prakash further added, “On what basis has he become a British citizen? And, how did he obtain Indian citizenship now? Unless there is clarity over the matter, we have requested the Returning Officer not to accept Rahul Gandhi’s nomination papers. There are no details mentioned in Rahul’s election affidavit about the assets and properties of the UK company for the period between 2003 to 2009. His education qualifications don’t match in the documents. He has used the name ‘Raul Vinci’ in his college and there are no certificates available in the name of Rahul Gandhi.”

Acting on the complaint, the Returning Poll Officer for Amethi constituency, Ram Manohar Mishra, has ordered the postponement of the scrutiny of Rahul’s nomination papers till 22 April. For a party, already reeling under the shock of major defections and the current resignation of their once loyal spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi, this is clearly not good news.

But what does postponement of the scrutiny of Rahul Gandhi’s nomination papers mean? Since a serious doubt has been cast on the origins of Rahul Gandhi, his candidature from Amethi is under the scanner. If found guilty, Amethi would become a cakewalk for his opponent and BJP stalwart, Smriti Zubin Irani, who is already giving the Congress President a tough run for his money.

BJP MP, Dr. Subramanian Swamy explained the possible rejection of Rahul Gandhi’s candidature in the simplest way possible. One of the key activists fighting against Rahul’s dubious credentials, Dr. Swamy posted the following tweets:-

As per the tweets, Rahul Gandhi is not only hiding the reality of his educational stint abroad but also possesses more than one passport, clearly in violation of the Indian norms for a Lok Sabha candidate as per the Indian Citizenship Act. Moreover, this is not the only objection raised about Rahul Gandhi’s profile before the Lok Sabha elections. A recent revelation, led by news daily New Indian Express, revealed that Rahul Gandhi has an M Phil degree with dubious credentials, as duly objected by current Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley.

As Amethi goes for the Lok Sabha polls on 6 May, it would be interesting to see whether the ecosystem manages to save the face of their patron, or Rahul Gandhi is shown the door, thereby giving Indian democracy a new lease of life, free from institutionalized nepotism.