Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's parliamentary membership has been restored, days after the Supreme Court suspended his sentence in a 2019 defamation lawsuit over his remarks about "their Modi".
A notice from the Lok Sabha secretariat stating that Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as a member of the Lok Sabha has been revoked.
Rahul Gandhi went to the Parliament where the Monsoon session was taking place. He received a warm welcome from several opposition MPs upon entering the premises. The descendants of Gandhi offer prayers in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from being a Lok Sabha MP on March 23 after a Gujarat court convicted him in a defamation case for his remarks about "the last name Modi" and sentenced him to two years in prison.
A sentence of two years or more automatically disqualifies a legislator.
National Assembly Speaker Mallikarjun Kharge called Rahul Gandhi's move to restore parliamentary membership "unwelcome".
He also tweeted a video in which he was seen giving candy to opposition leaders after the Lok Sabha secretariat revoked Rahul Gandhi's MP status.
Hitting the government, Kharge said, "No matter how much time is left in their tenure, the BJP and the Modi government should use it by focusing on real governance rather than undermining democracy by targeting the leaders of the opposition."
On August 4, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence against Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation criminal case because of his remarks about "the last name Modi". The court further noted that a trial judge at the Surat court failed to provide sufficient grounds to impose a maximum sentence of two years.
Rahul Gandhi was MP for Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala since 2019 before being removed from office in March this year after being convicted.
The National Assembly leader arrived at the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court last month rejected his petition to suspend his sentence while the Sessions Court heard his appeal to overturn his sentence. completely reversed the sentence.
WHAT IS THE CASE OF FAILURE?
Former Gujarat Minister Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation complaint in 2019 against Rahul Gandhi for "Why do all the thieves use the last name Modi as their common last name?" remarks made during an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019. A court in Surat on March 23 of this year found Rahul Gandhi guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison in the case. The next day, he was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha.
The congressional leader then challenged that order in a trial court with a request to suspend his sentence. While the Session Court granted him bail on April 20 and agreed to hear his challenge, he refused to suspend the sentence.
Rahul Gandhi applied to the High Court on 15 July challenging the Gujarat High Court's order upholding the court's decision to refuse to suspend the sentence of the trial.
