SC agrees to examine foreign origin issue

Congress President Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin was again raked up in the Supreme Court, which today decided to examine the issue of persons of foreign origin holding public offices saying it was an important Constitutional issue.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice RV Raveendran issued notices to the Centre and the Election Commission but made it clear that it would examine the issue only in context of the persons who are citizens by registration.

"You have raised a Constitutional issue. We will confine the question to whether the person who is not born in the country can be appointed to a public office," the Bench said after Rashtriya Mukti Morcha (RMM), a socio-political organisation, raised the issue of Gandhi being invited to form the government at the Centre in 1999.

Senior advocate PN Lekhi, appearing for the morcha, said Gandhi, a citizen by registration, was invited to form the government when she was not even an MP.

Lekhi said in 1999, Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party chief) had said that he would not join a government of a party headed by a person of foreign origin who had assumed citizenship by registration.

"On that day, the situation was saved but the threat is looming large because the person whom Mulayam Singh referred to is still on the political stage." he said.