A piquant situation unfolded in Amethi on Thursday when the district administration refused to issue a certificate of residence to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi who represents this constituency in the Lok Sabha.
As the issue may snowball into a major controversy and cause considerable embarrassment for Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders asserted that neither Rahul nor his authorised representative submitted any application seeking a domicile certificate from Amethi’s district administration.
“There is neither a need to seek a certificate of residence nor has any application been made by Rahul Gandhi. He represents Amethi in the Lok Sabha. Any citizen can contest the Lok Sabha election from any constituency in India,” said a party functionary working with Gandhi’s team.
Sources however said local party leader Rajendra Singh had submitted an application to the district administration seeking a domicile certificate for Gandhi to enable him to open a bank account to keep track of his election expenses.
As the application did not carry Gandhi’s signatures, the district administration rejected it. “Rahul Gandhi did not apply for any certificate of residence. We however received an application from Rajendra Singh, seeking a certificate of residence for him. This application did not meet the basic criteria — the signatures of the applicant. The application also did not have any documents to prove his identity. So we rejected the application,” said Amethi sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) RD Ram on the phone.
{{/usCountry}}As the application did not carry Gandhi’s signatures, the district administration rejected it. “Rahul Gandhi did not apply for any certificate of residence. We however received an application from Rajendra Singh, seeking a certificate of residence for him. This application did not meet the basic criteria — the signatures of the applicant. The application also did not have any documents to prove his identity. So we rejected the application,” said Amethi sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) RD Ram on the phone.
{{/usCountry}}“This may be an attempt to tarnish the image of Rahul Gandhi. We will examine any application submitted by the MP and action will be taken as per rules,” the SDM said. Polling in Amethi will be held in the fifth phase on May 7 and filing of nominations is to begin on April 12.