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Feroze Varun Gandhi
File:Feroze Varun Gandhi.jpg
Member of Parliament, Pilibhit
In office
16 May, 2009 - (Incumbent)
ConstituencyPilibhit
Personal details
BornElection Commission Of India
(1980-03-13) March 13, 1980 (age 44)
New Delhi, Delhi
DiedElection Commission Of India
Resting placeElection Commission Of India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
ChildrenNo
Parent
  • Election Commission Of India
ResidenceNew Delhi
SalaryRs. 32,000[1]
Websitehttp://www.varungandhi.net.in/
As of 16 May, 2009
Source: [1]

Feroze Varun Gandhi (born March 13, 1980, Delhi, India) is an Indian politician. He is the grandson of Indira Gandhi and great grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Early life

Feroze Varun Gandhi is the son of Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi, the son and daughter-in-law of the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. Feroze Varun Gandhi was 3 months old when his father was tragically killed in a plane crash.

On October 31, 1984, when Feroze Varun Gandhi was 4 years old, his grandmother and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her bodyguards.

Varun's mother, apart from being a political opponent of the Indian National Congress, is an animal rights' activist of international stature. She used her famous name to direct attention in the country towards animal welfare. She has set up a nationwide organization called People For Animals (PFA).

Varun's great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first Prime Minister of India, and his great-great-grandfather Motilal Nehru was a distinguished leader of the Indian independence movement. His grandfather Feroze Gandhi was a Parsi parliamentarian and the husband of Indira Gandhi.

Indira Gandhi is said to have been very fond of Varun, and was greatly distressed when Varun's mother left the household[2]. In an interview, Varun suggested that he feels a bond with the Nehru-Gandhi family, even though he belongs to a rival political party. Varun has claimed that Indira Gandhi did not force his mother Maneka Gandhi to leave, she left on her own.

He started his education at Modern School, New Delhi. After finishing the fourth standard, he transferred to the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh, India. He then went on to The British School, New Delhi, studying for his UK secondary exam board GCSEs and A levels. He obtained his BSc in Economics from the University of London External System; the program is administered by the London School of Economics and Political Science.[3]. He has so far completed eight elective subjects at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London [4].

Career

Varun was exposed to politics from an early age as his mother, Maneka Gandhi, was politically active since his birth.

In August 1999, at the age of 19, Feroze Varun Gandhi was active in his mother's Pilibhit constituency.[5] She made Varun accompany her in meetings. Varun started addressing public meetings during this election campaign.[6]

He wrote a book of poems titled "The Otherness of Self"[7], illustrated by Anjolie Ela Menon, Manjit Bawa and Manu Parekh. Asked what drew him to poetry, Varun Gandhi, explained: “Because it is so precise and illustrates the strength of language.”[8]

In February 2004, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party along with his mother after being convinced to do so by BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan.[9] His joining the BJP was hyped by the BJP with general secretary Pramod Mahajan claiming that "With Varun joining BJP, half the Congress will be with us..."[10] The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee posed before the media with Maneka Gandhi and Varun after which the BJP held a media event presided over by the then BJP president Venkaiah Naidu[11] . The president of the Indian National Congress and Varun's aunt, Sonia, wished him success in his career in politics.[12] She later said that Maneka and Varun's joining BJP was "painful as the Nehru-Gandhi family had always fought against communalism".[13]

Varun was used as a star campaigner by the BJP in the 2004 elections. He, however, refused to attack his family consisting of his cousins Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and his aunt Sonia Gandhi.

In October 2004, when campaigning for the BJP in Maharashtra assembly elections, he questioned the Congress as to what it had done for minorities in the past 50 years.[14]

In November 2004, he was inducted into the BJP national executive.

In 2006, the BJP asked him to contest the by-election to Lok Sabha from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, a seat vacated by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Chauhan.[15] The party backtracked later denying Varun the ticket.[16] The party then offered Varun a seat to contest from Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur constituency, but this time Varun refused the seat.[17]

In January 2008, the media reported that his mother Maneka Gandhi would vacate her five-time constituency of Pilibhit for Varun during the 2009 elections, while she will contest from neighboring Aonla. BJP decided to field Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit Lok sabha seat for general election 2009.[18]. Varun Gandhi was elected into the 15th Lok Sabha of India by a victory margin of nearly 293,501 votes. He procured around 429,000 votes. Highest margin for a newcomer, and second highest margin in the House.

Views

In October 2005, he was interviewed by Stephen Sackur of BBC's HARDtalk[19].

He was asked why he joined the BJP when his Nehru-Gandhi family has traditionally led the Indian National Congress, Varun said, "It was not so much a party as a set of ideologies that my family has stood for and I abide by those values. In recent times, the BJP had come to represent those values of nationalism and even secularism.

He defended his father Sanjay Gandhi as someone who had helped revive the industrialization of India by starting a car manufacturing plant Maruti Udyog and whose strategy helped Congress party's comeback[20].

Controversies

Dalchand

A video emerged allegedly showing Varun Gandhi making communal remarks at a public meeting.

At a meeting in Dalchand locality on March 6, 2009, he is alleged to have said (translated from Hindi) "If any person lifts a hand against Hindus, or thinks they are weak, there is nobody behind them, then I swear on the Bhagavad Gita that I will cut off that hand"[21][22]. However, no evidence of ownership or authenticity of this CD has ever been released. No newspaper, TV channel or radio station has claimed its ownership or has provided an alternative version recorded by their own - either to support or dispute the authenticity of the recording in question. No one has come as witness with a claim that he or she was present at the rally/meeting which the alleged event took place. Despite lack of proof, he was jailed under NSA.[23]

The Election Commission of India directed the Chief Electoral Officer, Uttar Pradesh to file a case under Indian Penal Code and Representation of the People Act against Varun Gandhi and issued a notice to him for violation of Model Code of Conduct.[24] The Election Commission had served Varun Gandhi a Show Cause notice asking him to reply by 11 am on 20 March 2009.

Varun Gandhi denied making these statements and claims his voice has been doctored in the recordings. He claims to have been giving strength to the people by making a strong statement against anti-social elements, but denies targeting any community. He says parts of the speeches were spliced and his mimicked voice was inserted.[25][26][27] However, the Election Commission said that there was no reason to believe the CD was doctored.[28] and that onus of proving that Varun Gandhi is innocent is on him. Impartiality and neutrality of the Election Commission has been questioned due to such a statement as it implicitly automatically assumes Varun Gandhi to be guilty unless proven otherwise.

Varun was speaking out against three rapes of Hindu women by communal elements in the area. Varun claimed that people had no confidence in the system and no cases were filed.

The newspaper Tribune Chandigarh reported that some Sikhs and Muslims who attended the meeting denied that Varun spoke against any community, alleging it was a political conspiracy.[29]

While defending his speech, Varun Gandhi said "I am a Gandhi, a Hindu and an Indian in the equal measure."[30]

On 22 March 2009, the Election Commission of India asked the BJP not to nominate Varun as a candidate for the 2009 General Elections. The Election Commission informed the BJP, since the party disowned the comments made, if party nominated him as a candidate then whatever he mentioned in the 'Hate Speech' would be treated as the party's policies.[31] However, the BJP said that it was not in the domain of the Election Commission to dictate to political parties which candidates to field and which to not? The BJP also raised questions on the non-partiality of the controversial Election Commissioner Navin Chawla and his alleged proximity to the Congress party.

BJP president Rajnath Singh has said that the recording is doctored and the BJP will not accept the commission's advice.[32].

On 29 March, Varun Gandhi surrendered before the local court in Pilibhit after his anticipatory bail expired and was arrested and jailed [33]. He was granted a two week parole on April 16 [34] and filed his nomination as a candidate in Pilibhit on April 22.[35] However, the state government of Uttar Pradesh, in a move unprecedented in Indian political history, imposed the National Security Act (NSA) against Varun Gandhi. Never before in Indian history, once elections had been declared, an opposition party's candidate had been imprisoned under the NSA. Under this stringent law a person can be put behind bars up to 1 year, if he is deemed a threat to the nation's security. Many decried this imposition of NSA on Varun Gandhi. Varun Gandhi approached the Supreme Court of India and it was reported that even the Supreme Court of India expressed much surprise on the NSA being imposed on Varun Gandhi, when Varun was not a criminal.

On May 8, The State Advisory Board of the Allahabad High Court recommended the revocation of the National Security Act (NSA) slapped on Bharatiya Janata Party’s Pilibhit candidate Varun Gandhi. It cited lack of sufficient grounds to press forward the case under the law against him. However, the state government of Uttar Pradesh led by Mayawati refused to budge and approached the Supreme Court against this decision.

On 14 May 2009, the Supreme Court of India was not satisfied by the state government's request for the continuation of NSA against Varun Gandhi, and it asked the state government to forthwith rescind the NSA order. The state government promptly complied. The Supreme Court revoked the restrictions imposed by the Uttar Pradesh state government surrounding his arrest and parole [36].

On May 16,that Varun won Pilibhit parliamentary seat, defeating his near contender Mr. V.M. Singh by a huge margin of 281,501 votes.[37]


College degrees

It had been widely reported that Varun Gandhi held college degrees from the London School of Economics (LSE) and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), both in London, United Kingdom. [38],[39]. On March 19, 2009 Varun Gandhi's lawyers presented a writ petition to the Allahabad High Court, requesting that the criminal charges against him be dismissed[40]. The petition was back by a sworn affidavit from Varun Gandhi. In the petition, it was claimed:

“That the petitioner is a well-educated and peace-loving citizen and has done his BSc Economics from the London School of Economics in the year 1999 till 2002, and thereafter went on to do his MSc in public policy at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in the year 2002-2004”[41]

On March 30, 2009 the Indian Express ran a story with statements from administrators at the LSE and SOAS refuting the claim that Varun Gandhi held degrees from those institutions. Varun Gandhi's undergraduate degree was earned through the University of London External System. An Alumni Relations officer from SOAS stated: “Feroze Varun Gandhi withdrew from his MSc programme at SOAS, and hence did not actually graduate from SOAS.”[42].

On April 10, 2009, the Indian Express published a response from Varun Gandhi. Gandhi acknowledged that both were external degrees, sponsored by the institutions, and "They enjoy exactly the same academic and intellectual standing as degrees awarded to internal candidates taught on-site." He states that he studied from India for personal reasons and to set an example for Indian students who can earn "degrees without incurring the huge costs that travelling abroad entails for their families and the country's precious foreign exchange resources"[43].

The Indian Express concluded that "In the opinion of the LSE and SOAS faculty and officials the report quoted, this meant his degree was not from their institutions"[43]. India Today reported that Varun had studied abroad, failing to complete a law degree at the University of Durham, where he lived off an allowance of £1,500 a month[44].

See also

References

  1. ^ "Salary of meneber of Parliyament".
  2. ^ Indira Gandhi: the last post By Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Published by Popular Prakashan, 1985
  3. ^ "Official Website of Chief Electoral Office, Uttar Pradesh (Affidavit of Feroze Varun Gandhi for Lok Sabha 2009)".
  4. ^ http://varungandhi.net.in/pdf/degree.pdf
  5. ^ "Enter another Gandhi -- Maneka launches son". Indian Express. August 30, 1999. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  6. ^ "Feroze Varun attempts to impress with `sincerity'". Indian Express. September 2, 1999. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  7. ^ "Sightings". The Hindu. October 29, 2000. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  8. ^ Frame by frame http://www.indianexpress.com/news/frame-by-frame/436181/
  9. ^ "The Nehru/Gandhi dynasty". Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  10. ^ "Feroze Varun Gandhi to join BJP". Sify. February 12, 2004. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  11. ^ "Politics of Indira's grandchildren". The Hindu. February 18, 2004. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  12. ^ "Sonia wishes Varun success". The Hindu. February 17, 2004. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  13. ^ "Varun move pains Sonia". The Telegraph. February 28, 2004. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  14. ^ "Congress has no concern for minorities: Varun Gandhi". Sify. October 5, 2004. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  15. ^ "Stage set for another Gandhi in House". The Telegraph. May 10, 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  16. ^ "Varun Gandhi denied LS ticket from Vidisha". Times of India. October 6, 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  17. ^ "Gorakhpur MP Yogi threatens to field rebels". Times of India. March 16, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  18. ^ List of the BJP candidates for Lok Sabha Election 2009 for Uttar Pradesh finalised by BJP Central Election Committee
  19. ^ Varun Gandhi defends Atal, Advani http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1261829.cms
  20. ^ SOAS Student Varun Gandhi promulgates Hindutva fascism on BBC http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7931724498266205861
  21. ^ http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/varun-gandhis-hatemuslim-speech-makes-his-bjp-squirm/435400/
  22. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/varun-gandhis-hatemuslim-speech-makes-his/435400/
  23. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/srilanka/5067550/Varun-Gandhi-youngest-scion-of-Nehru-Gandhi-dynasty-is-behind-bars.html
  24. ^ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ec-to-file-criminal-case-against-varun-gandhi/87895-37.html
  25. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXKGbA6-nTc
  26. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4vsrAkWoAs
  27. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX6JAc8kyQY
  28. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-reason-to-think-varun-cd-tampered-cec/437255/
  29. ^ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090401/nation.htm#2
  30. ^ Varun Gandhi is one-fourth Hindu
  31. ^ EC finds Varun guilty, condemns him
  32. ^ Varun's candidature will not be cancelled: Rajnath http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200903251751.htm
  33. ^ Varun surrenders amid high drama in Pilibhit http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/29/stories/2009032957300100.htm
  34. ^ SC orders release of Varun on parole
  35. ^ Varun Gandhi files nomination from Pilibhit
  36. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8050026.stm
  37. ^ http://eciresults.nic.in/StateWiseTrends.htm
  38. ^ NDTV: Varun Gandhi: an art lover, LSE grad, now a Hindu hawk
  39. ^ The Daily Beast: Gandhi Family Feud
  40. ^ CNN-IBN: Varun Gandhi moves Allahabad HC challenging FIR
  41. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/varun-told-hc-he-has-degrees-from-lse-soas-the-institutions-say-he-does-not/440606/0 Indian Express: Varun told HC he has degrees from LSE, SOAS; the institutions say he does not
  42. ^ Varun told HC he has degrees from LSE, SOAS; the institutions say he does not
  43. ^ a b Indian Express: My degrees ‘owned entirely’ by LSE, SOAS: Varun Gandhi
  44. ^ India Today: The Rising Hate Scion
Lok Sabha
Preceded by Member for Pilibhit
2009 – present 		Incumbent
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