NEW DELHI (AFP) – India’s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was restored to Parliament yesterday after the Supreme Court last week suspended his defamation conviction over comments criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gandhi is the scion of India’s premier political dynasty and his reinstatement was welcomed by other members of his Congress party, which was once a dominant force but has lost the past two elections to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Gandhi’s disqualification “ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements”, secretary-general of the Lower Parliament House Utpal Kumar Singh said in a statement.
The 53-year-old Gandhi was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in March in a case that critics flagged as an effort to stifle political opposition in the world’s largest democracy.
The conviction stemmed from a remark made during the 2019 election campaign when Gandhi asked why “all thieves have Modi as (their) common surname”.
His comments were portrayed as a slur against the prime minister and those with the same surname, which is associated with the lower rungs of India’s caste hierarchy.
Anyone sentenced to a custodial term of two years or more is ineligible to sit in India’s Parliament, and Gandhi was expelled as a result, though he stayed out of jail while appealing to the Supreme Court.
Congress head Mallikarjun Kharge said the reinstatement was “a welcome step”, and called on the government to concentrate on “governance rather than denigrating democracy by targeting opposition leaders”.
Fellow Congress party MP Shashi Tharoor also welcomed Gandhi’s return “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 of justice and for our democracy,” he said.
Many Congress leaders posted videos and messages hailing Monday’s order, and Kharge offered sweets to opposition leaders.
Supporters waving flags gathered outside Congress headquarters in New Delhi, shouting slogans backing Gandhi and thumping drums.
Gandhi returned to the Lower House yesterday as a lawmaker from Kerala, but didn’t immediately issue a public comment.
