Chennai (Tamil Nadu) : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday spoke up for the return of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to the Parliament, questioning why his membership of the Lok Sabha hasn’t been restored as yet despite the Supreme Court putting a stay on his conviction in the criminal defamation case over the use of the ‘Modi’ surname.
Rahul was convicted and handed a two-year prison sentence for a remark he made using the ‘Modi’ surname at a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The conviction saw him lose his membership of the Lok Sabha.
However, the sentence was later suspended, thereby enabling him to challenge his conviction at a higher court.
However, with the Gujarat High Court upholding his conviction by the Surat Sessions Court, the Congress leader moved Supreme Court.
Earlier, this week, the apex court stayed his conviction in the defamation case while advising him to exercise more caution while airing public speeches or statements.
Taking a veiled dig at Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, CM Stalin on Sunday questioned why the similar urgency with which he was stripped of his status as an MP was not being shown in facilitating his return to the Lower House.
In a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Stalin wrote, “Why hasn’t Thiru @RahulGandhi been restored as an MP despite the Supreme Court staying his conviction? Why the urgency shown to disqualify him is missing now? Is the BJP afraid of brother #RahulGandhi’s presence in Parliament?
Rahul was disqualified as an MP from Kerala’s Wayanad on March 24.
The apex court, while granting relief to the Congress leader, said the ramifications of the trial court’s order are wide.
Not only was Rahul’s right to continue in public life affected but also that of the electorate who elected him, the bench said.
Congress leader was sentenced to two years in jail on March 23 under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in a case filed by BJP leader Purnesh Modi.
Ahead of the Parliament session on Monday, the Congress has called a meeting of its Lok Sabha MPs in the party’s parliamentary office, The meeting is scheduled at 10.30 in the morning.
The party is likely to raise the demand for reinstating Rahul as the Member of Parliament after the Supreme Court’s stay on his conviction in the defamation case.
A copy of the Supreme Court order was formally handed over to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the Congress’ leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said earlier, on Saturday.
Chowdhury aired his disappointment over the Lok Sabha Secretariat’s response to his request that Rahul’s membership of the Lower House be restored at the earliest so that he could participate in the debate on the no-confidence motion against the Centre, which begins on August 8.
