The Returning Officer Ram Manohar Mishra of Amethi ordered the postponement of scrutiny of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s nomination papers to the 22nd of April. An independent candidate, Dhruv Lal, has filed a complaint alleging discrepancies in Rahul Gandhi’s candidature.
Dhruv Lal’s lawyer, Ravi Prakash said, “There are three basic issues we have raised – [one of the issues raised was on what] basis of a certificate of incorporation of a company registered in the UK wherein Rahul Gandhi has declared himself a UK citizen.”
The second issue raised was “On what basis has he [Rahul Gandhi] 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.”
Ravi Prakash added that under the Representation of People Act, a non-Indian citizen is barred from contesting elections in the country. The lawyer also alleged that Mr. Gandhi’s election affidavit between 2003 to 2009 had no mention of the assets and properties of the UK company.
Next, there were issues about Rahul Gandhi’s qualifications. Prakash said, “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. So, we are asking is Rahul Gandhi and Raul Vinci the same person? If it is not the case then we demand that he gives his original educational certificates, so that these can be verified.”
Amethi is a traditional strong hold of the Gandhi family and Rahul Gandhi has been winning this seat since 2004. The Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi will go to polls on the 6th of May.
Source : Various