Aurangabad: Hitting out at Congress president Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on August 26 said that the people of India would never allow a person with alien roots to occupy the post of Prime Minister or other high offices.

Addressing a mammoth public rally in Aurangabad, Advani said even in the United States there were provisions prohibiting people of foreign origin from occupying Constitutional offices.

He said Gandhi in 1999 had claimed the support of 272 Members of Parliament (MPs) after the Vajpayee government fell by a single vote. Perhaps had it not been her and somebody else in her place would have come to power, he said.

Advani said there were divisions within the Congress party over Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister, as was evident from the split in the party.

The Deputy Prime Minister also charged Gandhi with being "bitter and arrogant" during the no- confidence motion in Lok Sabha against the Vajpayee government last week.

The motion enabled the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to list its achievements besides allowing Defence Minister George Fernandes, who was being boycotted by the Opposition, to put across his views in Lok Sabha, he said.

PTI