Allahabad, Oct 19: The BJP today said by merely respecting social traditions Congress president Sonia Gandhi could not stake claim to a constitutional post and that the party would make it an issue in the coming assembly elections. The BJP will make Sonia's foreign origin a poll issue in the coming assembly elections, BJP general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters here.


Stating that she had no credentials apart from her relationship with the Nehru family, he said her foreign origin remains an "obstacle" in her occupying the post of prime minister.

Referring to Sonia's statement that she was as much an Indian as anybody having complied and respected the traditions of the Indian society, Naqvi said "respecting social traditions was one thing and staking claim to the constitutional post another".

There are thousands of people of foreign origin living in the country who have also accepted the Indian tradition, he said and asked "does it mean that all of them should lay claim to the constitutional post?''

He asked the Congress president to explain why it took her more than a decade to take Indian citizenship.

Bureau Report