A day after the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case, the Congress party on Saturday asked why Gandhi was not yet reinstated as a member of Parliament.
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Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha a day after a Surat court convicted him on March 23 and sentenced him to two years in prison.
Parliament authorities should show the same haste in reinstating him after the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the conviction, according to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha. “The speed with which Rahul Gandhi was disqualified should be the same to reinstate him,” Chowdhury told ANI news agency.
Chowdhury had called on speaker Om Birla in this connection. “As per his suggestion, when I called him up once again this morning (Saturday), he told me to speak to the secretary general and submit the documents to his office,” he said “I called up the secretary general, who said that his office is closed today and told me to submit the letter to the Speaker... I sent the letter by post. They signed the letter but did not stamp it.”
{{/usCountry}}Chowdhury had called on speaker Om Birla in this connection. “As per his suggestion, when I called him up once again this morning (Saturday), he told me to speak to the secretary general and submit the documents to his office,” he said “I called up the secretary general, who said that his office is closed today and told me to submit the letter to the Speaker... I sent the letter by post. They signed the letter but did not stamp it.”
{{/usCountry}}“When he (Gandhi) has been granted relief by the court, we are requesting the speaker to see that he faces no issue in coming back,” the leader said.
“26 hours after @RahulGandhi was “convicted” by the Sessions Court in Surat, the notification of his disqualification as MP was issued. 26 hours have passed since the Supreme Court stayed his wholly unjustified conviction,” Congress spokesman Jairam Ramesh tweeted. “Why hasn’t his position as MP been restored yet? Is the Prime Minister afraid of his participation in the No Confidence Motion?”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Lok Sabha official said the process to reinstate Gandhi’s membership is likely to start on Monday.
Gandhi approached the Supreme Court last month, challenging a Gujarat high court order that refused to stay his conviction. The top court on Friday stayed his conviction, observing that the Surat court had provided no reason for the maximum punishment of two years, triggering the disqualification from Parliament. Gandhi has challenged the conviction at the Surat sessions court.
The opposition filed a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government on July 26 in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. The Lok Sabha is expected to start debating the matter on August 8.