Rahul Gandhi rejoins as MP after Supreme Court ruling, sparking exuberant Congress celebrations.

Rahul Gandhi’s Parliamentary Membership Restored After Supreme Court Puts Conviction on Hold

By Himanshu Mishra

Summary:

• Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary membership has been restored after the Supreme Court put his conviction in a 2019 defamation case on hold.
• Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member on March 23 following his conviction in a defamation case.
• Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed the decision and criticized the government for targeting opposition leaders.
• Celebrations broke out at the party headquarters and outside Sonia Gandhi’s residence upon hearing the news.
• The Supreme Court stayed Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and noted that the trial judge had not provided sufficient reasons for the maximum sentence.

A notification from the Lok Sabha secretariat confirmed that Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a Lok Sabha member has been revoked. This comes after the Supreme Court put on hold his conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remarks. Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP on March 23 after a Gujarat court convicted him in the said defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. A punishment of two years or more automatically disqualifies a lawmaker.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed the decision to restore Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary membership, calling it a “welcome step.” He also shared a video on Twitter where he was seen offering sweets to opposition leaders after the Lok Sabha Secretariat revoked Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP. Kharge criticized the government, urging them to focus on actual governance rather than targeting opposition leaders.

As soon as the news broke, celebrations erupted at the party headquarters and outside Congress stalwart Sonia Gandhi’s residence. The restoration of Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary membership has brought joy to party members and supporters.

The Supreme Court had stayed Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case, noting that the trial judge had not provided sufficient reasons for imposing the maximum sentence. Rahul Gandhi had been serving as an MP from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala since 2019 before being disqualified earlier this year.

The defamation case was filed by former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi in 2019 over Rahul Gandhi’s remark about the common surname “Modi” among thieves. A Surat court convicted Rahul Gandhi on March 23 and sentenced him to two years in prison, leading to his disqualification as a Lok Sabha member. Rahul Gandhi then challenged the order in a sessions court, seeking to pause his conviction, but the court refused to stay the conviction. He later approached the Supreme Court to contest the Gujarat High Court’s order upholding the refusal to suspend his conviction.

(with inputs from PTI)