New Delhi: The issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin came back to haunt her again on Saturday with former president APJ Abdul Kalam's latest book 'Turning Points, A Journey Through Challenges'. In one of the chapters of the book - 'Controversial Decisions' - Kalam has written that if Sonia had made "any claim for herself (for prime ministerial post in 2004), I would have had no option but to appoint her".
It was widely believed then that Kalam had reservations against Sonia becoming the prime minister due to her foreign origin and that was the main reason why the Congress president refused to take up the post.
Sangma, however, gave the controversy a different twist by once again raking up Sonia's foreign origin issue. "I will never support a foreigner to be the prime minister or president of India. I am firm on my stand," the Presidential hopeful said.
Sangma along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar in 1999 gave up the membership of Congress over Sonia's foreign origin issue and formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). "It was my personal view, that is my view now also and it will be my view in the future till I die," he said on Saturday. He has, however, now left the NCP too due to his insistence on contesting the Presidential election....
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08:35 PM, Jun 30, 2012
