Digvijay Singh rubbishes Swamy's allegations against Rahul

Indore: Dismissing Subramanian Swamy's allegation that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi claimed himself to be a British national before authorities there, party general secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday dubbed the BJP leader as "liar" and said his remarks were "condemnable".

"Congress condemns the allegations of Swamy on Rahul's British citizenship. I am surprised at the importance being given to his statements. You will not find a liar bigger than him. Earlier also he has levelled bogus charges, but what proofs does he have in support of these allegations?" Singh told reporters here.

On the demand by some Congress leaders to hand over the reins of the party to Rahul after its good show in Bihar Assembly elections, the 68-year-old Rajya Sabha MP, without expressing his personal opinion, said, "This decision should be left to Congress president Sonia Gandhi."

Swamy had yesterday alleged that Rahul claimed himself to be a British national before authorities there and demanded that he be stripped of Indian citizenship and Lok Sabha membership.

Circulating copies of documents extracted purportedly from the company law authorities of Britain, he had said that Gandhi had declared himself as a British national in documents related to a now-dissolved company. This, he said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a violation of constitutional provisions and demanded that action be taken against Rahul.

However, later the Congress had dismissed the allegations as "entirely false".

On the BJP's drubbing in the Bihar polls, Digvijay quipped, "It shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot always fool the people."

When asked about Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh's statement on the issue of 'intolerance' that those who initiated this debate were paid for it, the senior Congress leader said, "He has made such controversial statements earlier also. It has become a culture with the BJP leaders to make irresponsible comments."

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister also expressed confidence that Congress will come up with a good performance in the November 21 bye-elections to the Ratlam-Jhabua Lok Sabha constituency and Dewas Assembly seat.

"During bypolls, people normally vote on the basis of local issues, and we are hopeful that Congress will get good results in it," Singh said.

To a question, he said, "If the Congress improves itself in the state, then BJP will never be able to win any elections here."