Rahul Gandhi's Amethi nomination valid, declares poll body

Amethi, Apr 22: In a major relief to Rahul Gandhi, the returning officer of Amethi has declared Congress president's nomination valid and rejected all 'Raul Vinci' objections raised by other Independent candidates.

Gandhi is a three time MP from Amethi and is contesting his fourth election from the family pocket borough. Alongside Amethi, Rahul Gandhi is also contesting from Kerala's Wayanad district as a means to give Congress a boost in South India.

Defending Gandhi his lawyer K C Kaushik said that Rahul was born in India and he holds an Indian passport.

"Rahul Gandhi was born in India and he holds an Indian passport, he never took citizenship of any other country. His passport, Voter-ID, and his income tax, everything is of India".

An independent candidate on Saturday raised objections over Congress president Rahul Gandhi's nomination from Amethi, alleging discrepancies over citizenship and educational qualifications in his election affidavit.

Complainant Dhruv Raj's lawyer Ravi Prakash showed reporters purported copies of a certificate of incorporation of a UK-registered company in which the Congress leader is stated to be a British national.

Citing the complaint, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao demanded that Gandhi come clean on the matter.