The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday recorded the statement of a Karnataka BJP worker, who is the complainant in the Rahul Gandhi citizenship case, as part of its probe under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), according to officials familiar with the development.
The complainant, S Vignesh Shishir, was asked to depose before the agency and share any documents in his possession related to his claims.
Talking to reporters outside the ED office around 11am, Shishir said, “I have been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate. There is evidence to show Rahul Gandhi is a British national. I have already shared evidence with the Lucknow CBI”.
The people mentioned above said the ED had launched a FEMA probe linked to Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship about four years ago, but Shishir’s statement is being recorded for the first time.
In a Public Interest Litigation filed before the Allahabad high court, Shishir had claimed that he has documents and some emails of the British government which prove that Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, is a British citizen and as a result, he is ineligible to contest elections in India and hence cannot hold the post of a Lok Sabha member.
An officer who didn’t wish to be named said the Centre has already written to the British authorities in this regard.
{{/usCountry}}An officer who didn’t wish to be named said the Centre has already written to the British authorities in this regard.
{{/usCountry}}The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC on August 28 ordered a round-the-clock security for Shishir, to be provided by the Centre.
In its interim order, the bench observed, “We are prima facie satisfied that the matter required consideration as the petitioner has been pursuing his cases against a very powerful individual and is facing constant threats and has to appear before the investigating officer at police station Kotwali, District Raebareli in pursuance of notice issued to him.”
Shishir had submitted to the HC that on his complaint in June 2024, a probe was underway by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and he claimed that he had appeared before the agency (CBI) in Delhi on multiple occasions furnishing evidence of Gandhi’s alleged British citizenship. CBI has not said anything on the matter.
The HC has posted the matter for hearing on October 9.