New Delhi : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday opposed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's petition before Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court seeking the issuance of an ordinary passport. Gandhi's counsel submitted before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta that no criminal case was pending against him and therefore he could be granted a no-objection certificate for getting a new passport.
However, the court said that Subramanian Swamy has a right to file a reply to Rahul Gandhi's petition. Thus the matter is listed for further hearing on 26 May. According to Swamy, if Gandhi is allowed to travel abroad, it may affect the investigation of the National Herald case, which pertains to the assignment of a loan of Rs 90 crores given by the Congress party to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
In his private complaint, Subramanian Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Young Indian controlled by the Gandhi family of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of property.
Also Read : Sonia Gandhi, Rahul will go to jail in National Herald case: Swamy
Rahul Gandhi approached the court for a new passport as he had to surrender his diplomatic passport due to his disqualification as a Member of Parliament (MP) following his conviction by a Surat court in the Modi surname defamation case.
On 23 March, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP after being found guilty of criminal defamation for his remark 'All thieves have the surname, Modi'. Rahul Gandhi made this statement during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign at Kolar, Karnataka. In his speech, Gandhi linked Prime Minister Narendra Modi with fugitives like Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.
