Congress top leader Rahul Ganhi's Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) membership has been restored two days after the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of the opposition leader in the Modi surname case.
A notification, which was issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat on Monday, states Rahul's disqualification as the members stands revoked.
Following the restoration of Rahul Gandhi's membership, various opposition leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Floor Leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay celebrated with sweets.
Kharge tweeted, "The decision to reinstate Shri @RahulGandhi as an MP is a welcome step. It brings relief to the people of India, and especially to Wayanad.
"Whatever time is left of their tenure, BJP and Modi Govt should utilise that by concentrating on actual governance rather than denigrating Democracy by targeting opposition leaders."
SC stays Rahul's conviction
The Supreme Court last Friday stayed the Gujarat High Court order, which had upheld the conviction of Rahul Gandhi for defamation over his "Modi surname" remark in 2019.
The judgement is stayed until the larger appeal is heard on merit, a bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice B R Gavai said in its order.
The apex court passed the order after noting that there were no reasons given by the trial judge for giving the maximum punishment of two years.
The SC also said that the disqualification affected not only Gandhi but also the electorate of his constituency.
However, the top court also cautioned Gandhi that he should have been more careful in making the alleged remarks.
Rahul's 'Modi surname' statement
During the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign, Rahul had said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname."
A complaint, which was lodged by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Purnesh Modi, had claimed Rahul had defamed the entire Modi community.