Noida, Jul 3: Congress President Sonia Gandhi was “constitutionally” eligible to become the Prime Minister in 2004, said former President APJ Abdul Kalam after he was heavily criticised for supporting the Congress President.

“I have said already in the book because Constitutionally Supreme Court says that she (Gandhi) is a citizen. So, Constitutionally if the majority party says she should be appointed. But she did not… she put Manmohan Singhji. There is no controversy in my mind,” he said.

The response came after Kalam attracted criticism over his book titled ‘Turning Points’ in which he mentioned that he was ready to extend his support to Sonia Gandhi to swear in as the Prime Minister in 2004 despite opposition from various political circles.

Cracking the whip at Kalam, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said, “his conscience has woken up late. It is for self-aggrandisement. We used to respect him a lot but now we are very saddened after such comments.”

The former President was not spared the wrath of Shiv Sena supremo, Bal Thackeray, who called him a “Hypocrite” and “shallow” for his comments after so many years.