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The ongoing controversy regarding the citizenship of Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi is once again in the news. A very important hearing on this matter is going to be held today in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. Everyone’s eyes are on whether the court will issue a notice to Rahul Gandhi in the case of his alleged ‘dual citizenship’? During this hearing, the court can decide the further legal process and direction of action.

Why did the High Court stop its own order?

Dramatic twists have been seen in this case in the last few days. In fact, during the hearing held on April 17, the court had ordered to register an FIR against Rahul Gandhi. At that time the lawyers of the Central and State Government had said that notice was not required. But, the very next day on April 18, Justice Subhash Vidyarthi reconsidered his own decision. After studying the old legal cases, he found that it is not right to give the decision without hearing the side of the accused i.e. without issuing notice. After this, the court stayed the FIR order and now issuing the notice will be considered in today’s hearing.

What is the whole controversy of British citizenship?

This entire matter is to the alleged British citizenship of Rahul Gandhi. Petitioner Vignesh Shishir claims that he has strong evidence and documents which indicate that Rahul Gandhi has been not only a citizen of the United Kingdom (UK) but also a voter there. Vignesh alleges that Rahul has participated in the elections there. During the hearing, the court had also ordered ‘top secret’ files to this case from the Foreigners Division of the Home Ministry and studied them.

Option of CBI investigation and stand of Supreme Court

The court had earlier also said that the matter is serious and if the state government wishes, it can also hand over the investigation to the CBI. However, it is important to remember that in 2019, the Supreme Court had rejected a similar petition saying that it had no solid basis. The then CJI Ranjan Gogoi had said that if a company writes Rahul Gandhi as a British citizen in some form, it does not mean that he has become a foreign citizen.

stir in political circles

Apart from citizenship, many other cases including defamation are also pending against Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, he had to lose his MP membership in the ‘Modi surname’ case, which was later restored after the intervention of the Supreme Court. Now if the High Court issues notice today and the investigation of the case goes ahead, then it can become a new challenge for Rahul Gandhi’s political future and his membership.