Earlier in the day, in an order issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, it was informed that in view of the Supreme Court order dated August 4, Gandhi’s disqualification, which was ordered on March 24 this year, stands withdrawn.
Meanwhile, party MPs welcomed him in Parliament with slogans and also distributedsweets to fellow MPs.
Rahul Gandhi removed the word disqualified from his official bio and mentioned ‘Member of Parliament’.
Following his membership being restored by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, three days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction on Friday, Rahul Gandhi on Monday arrived in the Lok Sabha amid sloganeering by the party MPs.
He first went to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament and offered his prayers and then entered the Parliament building to participate in the Lok Sabha proceedings.
Meanwhile, party MPs also distributed sweets to celebrate his comeback in Parliament.
He had removed ‘MP’ from his bio after he was disqualified following his conviction in the ‘Modi surname’ remarks case by a Surat court on March 23. The Lok Sabha Secretariat had disqualified him as MP on March 24. The Congress leader had also vacated his official bungalow on April 22 after he lost his membership.
A Surat court had earlier found him guilty and handed him the maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment — leading to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
The Gujarat High Court had refused to stay the conviction, after which Gandhi had appealed in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court stayed the conviction of Rahul Gandhi on Friday in a defamation case, which cost him his LS membership. The SC stayed the conviction saying thatno reasons were given by the trial judge for imposing the maximum punishment of two years in the case.
–Ajit Weekly News
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News Credits – I A N S