Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 7: The former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s suspension from the Lok Sabha membership was revoked on Monday and his status as the MP from Kerala’s Wayanad was restored after the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification in the wake of the Supreme Court staying his conviction in a defamation case.
As per the notification by the Lok Sabha, “the suspension ceases to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements.”
He was accorded a warm welcome by Congress and other Opposition MPs on his arrival in Parliament after his Lok Sabha membership was restored. Gandhi reached the Parliament House complex around 12 noon and headed straight to the Mahatma Gandhi statue and paid floral tributes. MPs of the Congress the Opposition INDIA bloc welcomed him at gate number one of Parliament, raising slogans.
Following restoration of his membership, the Congress said it would like him to be a key speaker in the debate on no-confidence motion likely to be taken up in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Congress MP Manickam Tagore said the party wanted Rahul Gandhi to participate in the discussion on the no-confidence motion as he has visited Manipur. “It is expected that he will present the facts related to Manipur in the Lok Sabha,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member on March 24, with effect from March 23 after a Gujarat court convicted him in a defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. A punishment of two years and above automatically disqualifies a lawmaker.
A copy of the Supreme Court order staying Gandhi’s conviction by a Surat in a criminal defamation case was formally handed over to the Lok Sabha Secretariat by the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday. In a relief to Gandhi, the Supreme Court, in an interim order on Friday, had stayed his conviction in the criminal defamation case over the “Modi surname” case. The stay paved the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP, though he failed to get any relief from either the sessions court or the Gujarat High Court.
Congress tweeted the official notification from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, calling it “Victory of love against hate.” Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called it “a victory for justice and for our democracy.” “With enormous relief, welcome the official announcement of @RahulGandhi’s reinstatement. He can now resume his duties in the Lok Sabha to serve the people of India and his constituents in Wayanad. A victory for justice and for our democracy!” he tweeted.
The Supreme Court on Friday, while ordering a stay on Rahul Gandhi’s conviction, said that while his remarks were not in good taste, his disqualification from parliament would affect his constituents. The trial judge had awarded the maximum sentence of two years in the case, the top court had observed, pointing out that it would not have attracted disqualification as an MP if the sentence was a day lesser. “The ramifications of disqualification not just affects the rights of the individual but also the electorate,” the judges said.
There are several other criminal defamation cases pending against Gandhi, including “the high-profile case of mudslinging the venerable Veer Savarkar”, filed by the freedom fighter’s family, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya had tweeted.
The questions now been raised whether Gandhi would also be restored his Tughlaq Lane house which he was asked to vacate after he was disqualified as MP. Gandhi had within days vacated the house and was since staying in the house allocated to his mother Sonia Gandhi. The Lok Sabha secretariat said Gandhi would have to re-apply for the allotment of the House as MP. The Tughlaq Lane house is yet to be allotted to anyone. Sources said Gandhi would be re-allotted the house again once he applies.
Earlier in the day, Chowdhury raised the issue of Gandhi’s house before the Lok Sabha housing committee. He wanted to apply on behalf of Gandhi but he was told that under the rules, only Mr Gandhi can apply for it.
The Congress had accused the Centre of political vendetta after the Lok Sabha Housing Committee asked Mr Gandhi to move out of the government accommodation. It started with an impromptu “Mera ghar aapka ghar (my home is your home)” campaign across the country and Gandhi was swamped with offers to stay with various Congress leaders and supporters.
Senior Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Ajay Rai was the first to symbolically dedicate his home to Gandhi. “The dictators of the country want to snatch the residence of our leader Rahul Gandhi. But they do not know that the houses of crores of party workers across the country belong to Rahul Gandhi,” Rai had said.