NEW DELHI: A day after the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the Modi surname case, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury submitted the court’s order and an application to the Lok Sabha Secretariat seeking Rahul’s immediate reinstatement to the Lok Sabha. Questioning the delay in restoring his membership, the party sought to know if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is afraid of Rahul’s participation in the no-confidence motion debate on Tuesday.
The Lok Sabha will take up the debate on August 8 and the PM is expected to reply on August 10. Chowdhury expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in reviving Rahul’s membership in the House but didn’t suspect it was deliberate. “I called up the Speaker last night. He suggested meeting him the next day. When I called him up once again this morning, he told me to speak to the Secretary-General and submit the documents to his office.
I called up the Secretary-General who said that his office is closed today and told me to submit the letter to the Speaker...I sent the letter by post. They signed the letter but did not stamp it,” Chowdhury said. Chowdhury met Speaker Om Birla on Friday immediately after the court verdict and urged him to restore his membership at the earliest. He also apprised Birla that the Congress wants Rahul to join the House soon and take part in the no-confidence motion.
He expressed regret that Rahul was not being reinstated at the same speed with which he was disqualified in March following his conviction by a Surat court in the case. “They may say that it is a holiday. But Rahul was vacated from his house on a holiday,” he said.
Taking to X (former Twitter), Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “26 hours after Rahul Gandhi was “convicted” by the Sessions Court in Surat, the notification of his disqualification as MP was issued. Why has he not been reinstated yet? Is the Prime Minister afraid of his participation in the no-confidence motion?”