Three days after the Supreme Court stayed the defamation conviction against Rahul Gandhi, Lok Sabha Secretariat cleared his return to the Parliament on Monday. Ever since the big legal relief to the Congress leader came, the big question has persistently done the rounds of political corridors, "Will he speak on the no-confidence motion debate scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday?" In an interview to The Wire, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh, said Congress party's parliamentary committee will decide that one.
The restoration of his membership was celebrated by Congress leaders and workers across the board with many leaders of I.N.D.I.A alliance also questioning the time taken by the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to reinstate Gandhi, considering he was disqualified within 24 hours of the Surat Court's judgment.
Congress general secretary, Jairam Ramesh, tweeted, on Saturday, "26 hours after Rahul Gandhi's 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. Why hasn't his position as MP been restored?" Pointing fingers at the PM, he further added, "Is the Prime Minister afraid of his participation in the No confidence Motion?"
The Apex Court stayed Gandhi's conviction in a defamation case wherein a Surat court had earlier found him guilty, handing over the maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment. Consequently, leading to his disqualification from Lok Sabha. The Gujarat High Court had also refused to stay the conviction, after which Gandhi approached the Supreme Court.
When his disqualification happened, Gandhi had vocally stated, "Please understand I am disqualified because the PM is scared of my next speech on Adani. They don't want me to deliver it in Parliament." While referring to his speech on Adani during the earlier session of the Parliament, Gandhi added during a press conference, "But I won't be silenced. The truth will be heard."
