02-13-2008, 09:50 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Award row: EC decides to issue notice to Sonia </b>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
The Election Commission on Wednesday made up its mind to issue notice to Sonia Gandhi on a petition to disqualify her membership to Lok Sabha for accepting an order of honour from the Belgian Government.
The poll panel seized of a petition filed by a resident of Kerala was in a quandary over whether or not to issue notice to the Congress president. The controversy arose from the fact that Sonia Gandhi was awarded with the Order of Leopold by the Belgian Government as a mark of honour for her exceptional service in civil life.
<b>The petitioner pointed out one clause in the Order which made the awardee owe allegiance to the Belgian crown and its Constitution. Disturbed by this fact, he sought Gandhi's disqualification under Article 102 of the Constitution, which provides disqualification of MP on the ground that he/she becomes a foreign citizen</b>.
According to sources in the Commission, the three-member Commission deliberated on the issue at length as for the first time a petition was filed seeking disqualification questioning the citizenship of a legislator who owes allegiance to another Constitution.
Considering the unique facts of the case, sources added, the Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami may even seek the assistance of the Ministry of External Affairs to provide details on the clauses contained in the Order of Leopold.
But sources indicated that the decision to issue notice could not be unanimous since one of the Election Commissioners considered the matter to be a frivolous petition. But the CEC is reported to have got support from the other Election Commissioner who agreed to the extent of sending a communication to Gandhi seeking her explanation.
The petitioner, <b>Rajan hails from Kerala and even runs an NGO that seeks to protect the fundamental right of Article 19 pertaining to Freedom of Right to Speech and Expression</b>.
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Now we know MEA will sit on this as they did to save Queen's BF.
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
The Election Commission on Wednesday made up its mind to issue notice to Sonia Gandhi on a petition to disqualify her membership to Lok Sabha for accepting an order of honour from the Belgian Government.
The poll panel seized of a petition filed by a resident of Kerala was in a quandary over whether or not to issue notice to the Congress president. The controversy arose from the fact that Sonia Gandhi was awarded with the Order of Leopold by the Belgian Government as a mark of honour for her exceptional service in civil life.
<b>The petitioner pointed out one clause in the Order which made the awardee owe allegiance to the Belgian crown and its Constitution. Disturbed by this fact, he sought Gandhi's disqualification under Article 102 of the Constitution, which provides disqualification of MP on the ground that he/she becomes a foreign citizen</b>.
According to sources in the Commission, the three-member Commission deliberated on the issue at length as for the first time a petition was filed seeking disqualification questioning the citizenship of a legislator who owes allegiance to another Constitution.
Considering the unique facts of the case, sources added, the Commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami may even seek the assistance of the Ministry of External Affairs to provide details on the clauses contained in the Order of Leopold.
But sources indicated that the decision to issue notice could not be unanimous since one of the Election Commissioners considered the matter to be a frivolous petition. But the CEC is reported to have got support from the other Election Commissioner who agreed to the extent of sending a communication to Gandhi seeking her explanation.
The petitioner, <b>Rajan hails from Kerala and even runs an NGO that seeks to protect the fundamental right of Article 19 pertaining to Freedom of Right to Speech and Expression</b>.
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Now we know MEA will sit on this as they did to save Queen's BF.