Rahul Gandhi back as MP after his Lok Sabha membership restored; Celebrations outside Congress office

 In a huge relief to Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Monday restored the membership of the Congress leader which was revoked after he was convicted in connection with the defamation case over ‘Modi Surname’ remark.

“In view of the verdict given by the Supreme Court on August 3, 2023, the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi, notified on March 24, 2023, under the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, has ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements,” Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh said in a notification.

Soon after the notification was issued, Congress workers began celebrating outside 10 Janpath in Delhi. Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge distributed sweets to the Opposition leaders in Parliament. He also welcomed Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership restoration whole-heartedly.

“The restoration of Rahul Gandhi’s membership has been done by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla as per the constitution. The process was completed without any delay,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pralhad Joshi told reporters outside Parliament. It is worth mentioning here that Rahul Gandhi, who was the Member of Parliament from Kerala’s Wayanad Constituency, was disqualified in March this year.

Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years of life imprisonment by the Surat Court over a defamation case filed by Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Modi over the controversial statements the Congress leader made about Modi surname. During a poll rally in Karnataka’s Kolar, Gandhi said, “Why do all thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names?”

Gandhi moved Supreme Court after his plea challenging conviction in the case was declined by the Gujarat High Court.