Louisiana governor Jindal caught in birther flap

A photo of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s birth certificate was published by a newspaper on Saturday even though there is no doubt the Indian American Republican was born in the United States.

After Jindal endorsed the Louisiana “birther” bill, the Baton Rouge daily newspaper, The Advocate, on April 22 published a critical editorial.

“Piyush Amrit Jindal is the last man in America who should give his blessing to a birther bill,” the editorial said.

Jindal’s office angrily responded that the newspaper had got the governor’s middle name wrong. “Amrit,” was the name of an ancient Middle East city, Jindal’s office said, and not his middle name.

Jindal offered to release his birth certificate to prove it. The Advocate received the birth certificate, apologized for use of an “incorrect middle name” and removed “Amrit” from the online version of the editorial.

Asked about the incident, The Advocate Executive Editor Carl Redman told Reuters, “I think the point of the editorial was that the Indian American governor of Louisiana should not be worried about people’s origins and birthplaces. That’s one of the great things about this country.”

Jindal, who is not running for president in 2012 but is mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate, released the certificate to prove a newspaper editorial wrong.

Jindal was born in the United States to Indian immigrant parents who held green cards at the time.

The flap started when Jindal said last month that he would sign a state bill, if it reached his desk, that would require candidates for federal office on the Louisiana ballot to show proof of birth in the U.S.

The bill was a response to doubts about President Barack Obama’s Hawaii birth raised by possible Republican presidential candidates such as businessman Donald Trump. Obama recently released his full birth certificate to squelch the doubts.

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