Rahul Gandhi receives new ordinary passport

Former Congress chief and senior leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday received a new ordinary passport two days after a local court granted its no objection to the issuance of the same PTI reported quoting sourcesHe had applied for an ordinary passport after surrendering the old diplomatic passport issued to him when he was a member of parliamentThe report said that the passport office had assured Gandhi in the morning that the passport would be issued to him on Sunday and he got it in the afternoonThe former Congress president is set to travel to San Francisco in the United States on Monday evening where he will start his threecity tour Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP following his conviction and twoyear sentence by a Gujarat court in a defamation case over his Modi surname remarkStarting with San Francisco where he is scheduled to interact with students at the prestigious Stanford University Gandhi will also address a press conference and have meetings with the lawmakers and think tanks in Washington DCThe Congress leader is likely to address Indian Americans meet lawmakers and interact with members of think tanks Wall Street executives and university students during his weeklong tour of the USA He is slated to conclude his trip with a large public gathering in New York on June 4 The interaction would take place at the Javits Center in New YorkAlso readHurriyat appeals GoI to release political prisoners and send a message of conciliation says NIA seeking death penalty for Yasin Malik deeply disturbingA Delhi court had on Friday granted a noobjection certificate to Rahul Gandhi for the issuance of an ordinary passport for three years instead of 10 the period for which it is normally issued following an objection raised by BJP leader Subramanian SwamyThe court noted that the National Herald case was pending at the stage of crossexamination of the complainant in precharge evidence and Gandhi has been regularly appearing either in person or through his counsel and has not hampered or delayed the proceedingsRahul Gandhi is an accused in the case in which Swamy is the complainantAn ordinary passport that is generally issued to adults is valid for 10 yearsOn March 24 the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala was declared vacant after Rahul Gandhi who represented it in the Lok Sabha was disqualified following his conviction in a defamation case in which he was sentenced to a twoyear jail termThe Congress leader whose sentence has been suspended in the defamation case filed over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modis surname had moved the court seeking a noobjection certificate on Tuesday