New Delhi
Ahead of a visit to the United States, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who is an accused in the National Herald case on Tuesday moved the Rouse Avenue court for the issuance of an ordinary passport.
Mr. Gandhi, who was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member on March 26 following his conviction by a court in Surat in a criminal defamation case over his ‘Modi’ surname remark, has surrendered his diplomatic passport that MPs are entitled to..
The application for the NOC to secure a fresh ordinary passport, filed in the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta, is likely to be heard on Wednesday.
The court had sought a response from BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who is the complainant in the National Herald case. The court had on December 19, 2015 granted bail to Gandhi and others in the case.
According to sources in the Congress, Mr Gandhi had a visit planned to the US during which he is expected to address a public rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on June 4. The public rally will cap his week-long tour of the U.S., that includes a talk at Stanford University. This will be first public rally by Mr. Gandhi in the U.S.
