The Hindu : National : Sonia's foreign origin issue is a statement of fact: AIADMK

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

National

National

Sonia's foreign origin issue is a statement of fact: AIADMK

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI, APRIL 6. The AIADMK today asserted before the Election Commission that raising the foreign origin issue of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, was a statement of fact and did not violate the model code of conduct.

In response to the comments sought by the Commission to the complaint made by the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) in Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK said: "The debate on who could be the Prime Minister of this country cannot be abusive by any stretch of imagination."

Briefing reporters after attending an all-party meet convened by the Commission today, the legal adviser of the AIADMK and Member of Parliament, N. Jothi, said the issue was "very much relevant" as it concerned the security of the country and the Prime Minister had control over the nuclear button. If there was a statement in the AIADMK election manifesto that a natural-born Indian should be preferred against a non-natural-born Indian citizen, it could not become an abusive averment or indecent statement or unpatriotic or anything intended to insult anyone or intended to create any violence in this regard, he said.

The reply maintained that no part of the model code had been violated, as "Ms. Sonia Gandhi is not a natural-born citizen is an accepted fact.

Until obtaining Indian citizenship out of compulsion, she continued to be an Italian citizen for quite a long time, i.e 15 years, even after marriage to late Rajiv Gandhi. These are all matters of fact and nothing but fact."

The party said there was no question of anybody getting agitated on this issue, inasmuch as elections in the past wherein Ms. Gandhi had participated had been fought on these lines. Several debates had taken place in Parliament already on this issue and there was nothing wrong in quoting those aspects in the election manifesto of the party.

The party said that no part of the manifesto contained any false statement and voters had only been cautioned with respect to the public duties of their leaders. No part of the manifesto was beyond the desired level of electioneering and every care had been taken to ensure that the election campaign of the AIADMK did not degenerate into a campaign of vilification.

The office of the Prime Minister should be considered as one of the highest offices and recent events had confirmed that several leaders of the DPA had affixed their signature to a memorandum in the agenda of the National Democratic Alliance to bring in such legislation preventing persons like Ms. Gandhi from occupying the Prime Minister's post, the AIADMK maintained.

The party said the DPA's representation to the Commission was not maintainable since Ms. Gandhi had not come forward to make such a complaint, it said and urged the Commission to reject it.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National