Already grappling with troubles arising out of the CBI chargesheet against him, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi today invited fresh trouble for Congress chief Sonia Gandhi vis-a-vis her foreign origin issue. At the BJP’s state executive today, when BJP chief Venkaiah Naidu, while counting the advantages for his party, came to an abrupt stop and a smile flickered on his face. ‘‘Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin does makes an election issue, at least now,’’ he said. This comes two days after Ajit Jogi declared that ‘‘only a Chhattisgarhia can become a Chhattisgarh chief minister, not an outsider’’. Retaliating against Jogi, Naidu said: ‘‘Alright, Jogiji, we also want an asli Bharatiya to become the country’s PM.’’ He further asked Jogi, ‘‘Is Rome somewhere close to India?’’ Assuring that the BJP would install a real Chhattisgarhia as the state’s CM when the party returned to power, Naidu said they also want that the ‘‘incoming PM should be an Indian.’’ So it’s Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin which will be under question and will be a poll issue for BJP in the Assembly as well as LS polls. Naidu recalled that Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot had also branded Vasundhara Raje as an ‘‘outsider’’. ‘‘Both CMs have made a joke of themselves,’’ he said, and charged the Congress with pursuing parochial politics. He said the ban on religious conversions would be part of the manifesto along with BJP’s resolve to stop cow slaughter. On the chargesheet against Jogi, Naidu said: ‘‘Jogi got himself trapped in the CBI web.’’ Taking a dig at Jogi for saying his “adivasi’’ credentials were the reason for the chargesheet, Naidu said: ‘‘NDA never resorted to such an excuse against the Congress when it harassed Defence Minister George Fernandes — an Indian Christian, by deciding on boycotting him. Does it not expose Congress’s double standards?’’
