The Hindu : National : Differences in NDA over foreign origin issue

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Thursday, May 20, 2004

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National

Differences in NDA over foreign origin issue

By Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI, MAY 19. Differences have cropped up within the National Democratic Alliance over the raking up of the issue of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin. It is learnt that some members of the allied parties would have defied the Bharatiya Janata Party and attended the oath-taking ceremony even if Ms. Gandhi were to become the Prime Minister.

In the NDA's first meeting after the elections here today, some of the allies took a dim view of carrying on with the issue even after Ms. Gandhi decided not to accept the Prime Minister's post. The meeting was ostensibly convened to review the poll results, but much of the time was taken up by BJP leaders briefing the meeting on what had been going on.

The BJP tried to give the impression that the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, seemed responsive to various individuals who had apprised him on why they thought Ms. Gandhi was not qualified to become the Prime Minister under the Constitution and the Citizenship Act. In the last two to three days, the Janata Party's Subramanian Swamy and the BJP's Uma Bharti, Sushma Swaraj and Govindacharya have met Mr. Kalam.

(Rashtrapati Bhavan was today constrained to issue a communiqué which said: "It has been reported in a section of the press that the President, Dr. Kalam, had discussed the citizenship issue with Ms. Sonia Gandhi when she met him yesterday at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This is contrary to facts. It did not figure in the discussions at all.")

However, some of the allies said that Ms. Gandhi's foreign origin was a non-issue and should be dropped. According to them, the Congress had won the people's mandate and it was up to the party who it elected as its leader.

They argued that Ms. Gandhi had been given legitimacy by the NDA Government as the Leader of the Opposition and that she was consulted on several issues of national importance. Moreover, they questioned senior BJP leaders on why they did not take any constitutional measure on debarring persons of foreign origin from high constitutional posts when a Constitution Review Commission was set up.

These allies earlier thwarted attempts soon after the elections by the NDA to take a delegation to the President on the subject. In yesterday's meeting, these allies prevailed upon the BJP not to mention the foreign origin issue in a resolution adopted. Allied leaders such as Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav have consistently avoided commenting on Ms. Gandhi's foreign origin as against the NDA convener and party president, George Fernandes' comment yesterday that it shall remain an issue.

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