Centre tell SC no bar on Sonia from holding public office

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin did not put any bar on the Congress chief from being elected to hold public office as the Constituion did not make any distinction between acquired and natural citizenship. "Once citizenship of India has been acquired in terms of the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, the concerned person becomes a citizen for the purposes of the Constituton, and as such, there can be no bar on such persons being elected to public office," the Centre said. The Centre's stand came in response to the petition filed by an organisation calling itself Rashtriya Mukti Morcha which had raised Sonia's foreign origin issue after the Congress President was invited to form the government by the then President in 1999 after the collapse of the NDA following a no-confidence vote. The apex court had sought the response from the Centre on the limited issue whether a person, who is a citizen by registration, can hold a public office. Responding to the question, the Centre said "the Constitution does not make a distinction between the citizens and as such no distinction can be made within the 'single class of citizens." "It cannot be said that natural born citizens or those covered by Article 5 stand at a higher footing than others",the centre further said. It said "once citizenship is acquired under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, no distinction can be made between citizens thereafer, either under the Constitution or under the Citizenship Act," the affidavit said countering the contention of RMM that a political party cannot be headed by a person who has assumed citizenship by registration. Further, the qualification envisaged for contesting an election to the office of President, Vice President and Members of Parliament entitles a citizen of India to contest the said election and as the Constitution recognises only "one class of citizens", no distinction can be drawn upon such citizens either under the Constitution or the Citizenship Act. While addressing the concern of the court that important Constitutional issue has been raised in the petition that no person who is not the citizen within the meaning of Article 5 of the Constitution has the right to be elected or appointed to any public office, the Centre said in such situations all citizens born after 26th November, 1949 would not be eligible for any Constitutional office. "Article 5 of the Constitution deals with citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution. If it were to be held that no person who is not a citizen of India under Article 5 can hold any public office under the Constitution, all citizens born after November 26, 1949 would not be eligible for any Constitutional office," the affidavit said. RMM, a socio-political organisation, has challenged the Delhi High Court verdict which had dismissed its PIL on the ground that it lacked merits. The petitioner had submitted that Gandhi, a citizen by registration, was invited to form the government when she was not even the MP. Senior advocate P N Lekhi, appearing for the RMM when the apex court on 16th April, 2007 had issued notice to the Centre, had submitted that even at that time in 1999 Mulayam Singh Yadav had said he would not join a government of a party headed by a person of foreign origin who assumed citizenship by registration. RMM had claimed that after the last general election Gandhi wanted to be Prime Minister but the President perhaps said that the question of foreign origin was before the court.

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