New Delhi, February 13
In a rare split verdict, the Election Commission today decided to serve a notice on Congress President Sonia Gandhi on a complaint seeking her disqualification for receiving a Belgian honour.
After discussing for days, marked by differences on whether to issue a notice or not, the three-member commission by a 2-1 vote decided to issue her a notice seeking her views on the ‘Order of Leopold’ conferred on her by the Belgian government in 2006, EC sources said.
The commission also decided to write to the external affairs ministry seeking further details about the award which the complainant, a Kerala advocate, contended made Gandhi owe allegiance to the Belgian government.
The commission acted on a Presidential reference following the petition, which sought her disqualification as a Lok Sabha member.
— PTI
