British nationality issue: Rahul Gandhi had declared Backops shares in 2004 polls

NEW DELHI: Contesting elections from Amethi in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had declared, as assets, the shares he held in Backops Limited. Rahul Gandhi’s affidavit (April 3, 2004), states that he held 83 percent shares in the Firm-Backops Services.

The Congress Vice President’s affidavit further reads that there was a “capital investment” of two and a half lakh rupees in the firm and the “bank balance” of the firm was “approximately” three lakh rupees.

In a separate column titled “other assets, such as values of claims/interests”, the affidavit adds “properties of Backops Limited, Europe accounts nos. HSBC-UK Account number 58332832 with a balance of 18600.oo US $”.

The UK based company floated in the year 2003 and dissolved in 2009 has its annual return forms mentioning Rahul Gandhi as a British National.

Accusing the Congress Vice President of declaring himself a British citizen to float a company in UK, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that Rahul Gadhi should be stripped of Indian citizenship as well as his parliamentary membership.

Swamy had written to the Prime Minister on November 12 urging him to initiate steps to cancel Rahul’s citizenship and ask Lok Sabha speaker to appoint a Committee or direct the committee on ethics to cancel his Lok Sabha membership.

Swamy had alleged that Rahul had floated the company Backops Limited declaring himself to be of British nationality with a UK address. He had further submitted that Rahul also held 65 percent of the total shares issued by this company.

The Congress has however rubbished Swamy’s charge. Terming it to be an “error”, the Congress party today produced documents claiming that at the time of floating the company in 2003, Rahul Gandhi was registered as an Indian citizen. And that Rahul Gandhi was by mistake mentioned as a British National in the annual return forms of the company.

Congress communication department head Randeep Singh Surjewala said “the sole purpose appears to be to divert attention from inner revolt and paralysis of policy and governance being questioned all around”. On company’s annual return mentioning Rahul as a British national, Surjewala said “Rahul Gandhi has not filed any such return. If somebody has committed an error while uploading, it can be corrected. It is correctable. Rahul has held Indian citizenship from the day he was born”.