New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma Wednesday flagged the need for a law to ensure that foreign spouses married to Indian lawmakers acquire Indian citizenship—in a veiled reference to Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who is married to UK-born Elizabeth Colebourn.
“During my interactions with an IFS officer in Singapore, I learned that officers in the Indian Foreign Service cannot marry a foreign national without prior permission from the Government of India,” Sharma said in a post on X. “Moreover, even when permission is granted, it comes with the condition that the spouse must acquire Indian citizenship within six months.”
“Interestingly, this rule does not apply to our lawmakers. However, allowing a foreign spouse of a lawmaker to retain foreign citizenship for 12 years is far too long. Loyalty to the nation must always take precedence over all other considerations,” he further said.
Gogoi has been married to Colebourn for 12 years.
Just a day ago, RSS mouthpiece Organiser published a report, stating that “revelations” had surfaced regarding Colebourn for “allegedly working closely with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)” in Islamabad.
Her PhD supervisor, Tuesday’s report states, was Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, “a key advisor to Pakistan’s Planning Commission”.
Alluding to the Organiser report in another post on X, Sharma wrote, “Serious questions need to be answered, regarding allegations of ISI links, leading young individuals to the Pakistan Embassy for brainwashing and radicalization, and the refusal to take Indian citizenship for the past 12 years.”
“At some point, accountability will be necessary,” he said. “Simply deflecting responsibility or attempting to shift the focus onto others will not serve as an easy escape route. The nation deserves transparency and truth.”
ThePrint reached Gogoi for a comment, but there was no response.
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, current Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Pawan Kalyan are all examples of legislators who married foreign nationals.
The rule for IFS officers
According to the Indian Foreign Service (Conduct and Discipline) Rules, 1961, IFS officers are barred from marrying foreign nationals without the Government of India’s permission.
“If a member of the Service contracts marriage with a person other than an Indian citizen without obtaining prior written permission of the Government, he shall be liable to be removed from the Service,” the rules state.
However, the rules state that it is up to the government to decide whether the foreign spouse should acquire Indian citizenship. “In the event of a decision being taken to grant permission to member of the Service to contract a marriage with a person other than an Indian citizen, the Government may stipulate such conditions as it may deem appropriate, including the condition that the foreign spouse should acquire Indian citizenship within a reasonable period of time,” it states.
Mohan Kumar, a retired IFS officer, said that while the rule does exist, in most cases, the government grants permissions for marriage quite liberally.
However, no such rule exists for lawmakers.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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