'Foreign origin' will continue to be an issue: BJP

Congress President Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin -- much-hyped by the NDA during their election campaign -- would continue to be an issue in the future, BJP President M Venkiah Naidu said today.

When asked if Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin would continue to be an issue with the BJP, Naidu said they were not talking about Sonia Gandhi. He added, though, that "foreign origin was still an issue."

The Congress, he said, had not declared until this morning that Gandhi would be their prime ministerial candidate. The front led by it had still not got a clear majority, he added.

Naidu was talking to reporters after a meeting of top NDA leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and NDA convener George Fernandes at the residence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.