In his reply to a notice from the Parliamentary Ethics Committee on allegations of dual citizenship, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said he had never “sought or acquired British citizenship” and that his “identity is that of an Indian”. Gandhi also questioned the committee’s decision to look into a “complaint that is not in order”, claiming it was “an endeavour to malign” him, according to a PTI report. The panel had issued him a notice, seeking an explanation to whether he had once declared himself a British citizen on the legal papers of a company in the United Kingdom.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had reportedly referred Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy’s “complaint of ethical misconduct” to the 11-member panel after Swamy alleged in November last year that he had accessed documents in which Gandhi had called himself “British”. The documents concerned were allegedly the annual returns of United Kingdom-based Backops Limited in 2005 and 2006. Gandhi has now challenged Swamy to make his supposed British passport number and other relevant documents public, to produce evidence to support his claim, and file an affidavit on his allegation.

The Ethics Committee, which is headed by BJP veteran LK Advani, has the power to expel a lawmaker. Congress claims the inquiry against Gandhi was just a formality as there was “nothing incriminating” against him. The 45-year-old party vice president himself dismissed the allegations and dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to jail him if he was proven guilty.