Sonia Gandhi resigns as RGF chairperson

New Delhi, Apr 8 (UNI) Congress President Sonia Gandhi today resigned as Chairperson of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

This is the third post Ms Gandhi has relinquished in the wake of the Office of Profit controversy, party sources said.

On March 23, she announced her resignation from the Lok Sabha along with the Chairmanship of the National Advisory Council.

She later quit as Chairperson of the Amritsar-based Jalianwalabagh Memorial Trust.

The Congres President's decision to resign as chairperson of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation is being viewed as an attempt to pre-empt any possible trouble in her path to re-enter the Lok Sabha through the May 8 Lok Sabha by-election in Rae Bareli, the seat she vacated following the Office of Profit controversy.

The controversy erupted following the disqualification of Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan from the Rajya Sabha on the grounds that she was also the Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council.

The Opposition had demanded Ms Gandhi's resignation, citing that she was also holding several posts while being a Member of the Lower House.

The UPA government is exploring the possibilities of introducing a legislation to deal with the issue.

UNI