MHA issues notice to Rahul Gandhi over citizenship row

New Delhi, Apr 30: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday issued notice to Congress president Rahul Gandhi over citizenship status on a complaint filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy.

The MHA has requested Rahul Gandhi to "intimate factual position on the matter". It has given 15 days to respond to the notice.

In a letter addressed to the Congress chief, the ministry said that Rahul, in an annual return filed by company Backops Limited, has declared his nationality as British.

"You are requested to intimate the factual position in the matter to this ministry within a fortnight of the receipt of this communication," the ministry wrote.

Earlier this month, the returning officer in Amethi had postponed the scrutiny of his nomination papers after Dhruv Lal, an independent candidate, had raised objections against the details provided by Gandhi in his nomination papers.

Reacting to the issue, BJP's GVL Narasimha Rao had said, I think it's a matter of great surprise that the objections that have been raised regarding Rahul Gandhi's citizenship haven't been answered. Rahul Gandhi's name has been shown to be listed as a British citizen in documents related to a company in the UK. Was Rahul Gandhi a British citizen?"