Rahul Gandhi is surrounded by Congress MPs during the Congress parliamentary party meeting in the central hall of Parliament on Tuesday evening. (PTI)

New Delhi, May 18: Sonia Gandhi may have decided not to become Prime Minister but legal and constitutional experts believe that nothing prevents her from occupying the high office, despite the “movement” against her.

It raises several questions as this is the first time in the history of world democracies that a leader who contested elections and won, and was elected leader of the majority alliance could not become the Premier.

“It is not proper for the BJP to take to the streets, especially when she has won the elections and majority parties have chosen her as the leader of the House,” says Justice Rajinder Sachar, the former chief justice of Delhi High Court.

“If the BJP were to indulge in this type of agitation, it is unfortunate as after all Sonia Gandhi has won the elections, leading a party.”

“There is no constitutional bar also for Sonia Gandhi (to become PM) and it will be wrong to mix up this anti-Sonia movement with any other, like the anti-Emergency movement,” says Justice Sachar, one of the major players in the 1975 movement.

But he sounds a note of caution that under the Italian constitution “you do not lose citizenship (of Italy), irrespective of the fact that you have taken up citizenship in some other country”.

“Our Constitution does not allow this, as you have to renounce the citizenship of your original country. But then, it is a legal, technical point.”

“Had Sonia Gandhi written to the Italian government that she has given up Italian citizenship, irrespective of the fact that she does not lose Italian citizenship under that country’s constitution, she is a valid Indian citizen. No court of law will come to the conclusion that she is not an Indian citizen,” Justice Sachar says.

“By renouncing the leadership of the majority in Parliament, Sonia Gandhi has actually played into the hands of the BJP,” he adds.

Rajeev Dhavan, senior counsel in the Supreme Court and a constitutional lawyer, puts his faith in the supremacy of Indian law. “In India, it would be Indian laws and Indian Constitution, and there is no question of anything preventing, prohibiting or barring Sonia Gandhi from becoming the Prime Minister.”

“In India, it is automatic that once you acquire Indian citizenship, you relinquish the citizenship of the original country…”

“…as soon as you acquire Indian citizenship, you are very well a citizen like any other citizen, and the fact that many world constitutions do not deprive citizenship to their citizens — irrespective of their adopting citizenship in some other country — will not come in the way,” he adds.

On the BJP’s foreign-origin campaign, Dhavan says: “The BJP is reverting to the insular Hindutva agenda of the RSS and rakes up Sonia’s irrelevant foreign-origin issue.”

“The BJP’s communal, populist agenda put it into power...unfortunately it is this very component of the populist communal agenda that is taken out every time Sonia emerges victorious.”

“If our people of Indian origin run for the governor’s post in, say, the US, we all feel proud of it,” Dhavan adds.

He, however, lauded Sonia’s decision. “Sonia Gandhi has taken a very prudent decision and the message has gone (down) well in the country that she is not (vying) for any loaf of office and that the nation should be rid of communal elements.”

“…leaders from the Left parties and Laloo (Prasad Yadav) strongly saying it (Sonia’s candidature) is part of secularism and gender justice has also gone (down) well with the people and the anti-Sonia movement would actually strengthen secular democratic agenda,” Dhavan says.

Shanti Bhushan, Union law minister in the Morarji Desai government in 1977-80, is more categorical. He says Rajya Sabha members such as Sushma Swaraj have undermined their constitutional position by “hysterically” hyping the “Sonia no-PM” movement.