India: India’s parliament has reinstated the membership of opposition Congress Party leader Mr. Rahul Gandhi following the Supreme Court’s suspension of his defamation conviction.
“Mr. Gandhi’s suspension has ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements,” Mr. Utpal Kumar Singh, Secretary General of the lower parliament house, said in a statement.
The Congress leader was convicted in March in a case brought by a legislator from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over 2019 comments that were deemed insulting to Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and others with the same name.
The case was filed by Mr. Purnesh Modi, who is a BJP legislator in Gujarat state. After being convicted, Mr. Gandhi lost his parliamentary position and was jailed for two years, though he was later released on bail.
Recently, the Supreme Court suspended the conviction, allowing the opposition leader to return to parliament and contest a general election due next year. The 53-year-old has sought to overturn the conviction, but his challenge has yet to be heard by a lower court.
Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President, has commented that the reinstatement was “a welcome step,” and called on the government to concentrate on “governance rather than denigrating democracy by targeting opposition leaders.”
The Congress Party MP Mr. Shashi Tharoor welcomed the announcement “with enormous relief.”
“He can now resume his duties in the Lok Sabha [lower house of parliament] to serve the people of India and his constituents. A victory for justice and for our democracy,” Mr. Tharoor added.
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