Citizenship row: Parliamentary Ethics Committee issues show-cause notice to Rahul Gandhi

The Parliamentary Ethics Committee, headed by veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani, has issued a show-cause notice to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi asking him to respond to questions on whether he had once declared himself a British citizen.

Parliamentary Ethics Committee Arjun Ram Meghwal, confirming this news to ANI, said that it was a very serious matter and the committee would discuss the further course of action once the Congress vice-president responds.

"A complaint reached the Lok Sabha speaker which she forwarded to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee therefore issued a show-cause notice asking him to respond to as to how he showed his British citizenship when he was about to become the director of a company in London," Meghwal told ANI.

"This is a very serious matter and we would discuss once he responds," he added.

BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy had accused Rahul of declaring himself a British citizen to float a firm in that country. He had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded that Gandhi be stripped of his Indian citizenship and his membership of Parliament.

Swamy alleged that Gandhi had floated a company called Backops Limited in 2003 in the United Kingdom, 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.