Quick to disqualify, why delaying Rahul return to House: Cong urges Speaker

Sources in the Lok Sabha Secretariat confirmed that the Congress has submitted the court order. But since Speaker Om Birla is scheduled to travel outside Delhi Sunday, sources said the “request will be examined” Monday.

The Congress is keen that Gandhi return to the House and take part in the no-confidence motion which will be taken up for discussion on August 8.

Soon after the apex court order came Friday, Chowdhury had met Birla urging him to restore Gandhi’s membership. The Speaker had told Chowdhury that he would take a call once his office received the order from the Supreme Court.

“After I received the court order, I called the Speaker Friday night. I told him that I wanted to hand over the Supreme Court order staying the conviction of Rahul Gandhi and also submit our letter. I sought time to meet him. He told me that he would meet me on Saturday,” Chowdhury told reporters.

“I called him Saturday morning. I spoke to him. He advised me to contact the Lok Sabha Secretary General and hand over the document to his office. I called the Secretary General. The Secretary General said his office is shut today as it was a holiday. I asked whom should I give the letter to then? He told me to give it to the Speaker (and it) will reach him through the Speaker’s office,” Chowdhury said.

“I told the Secretary General to, at least, get the letter received. He said it was a holiday. What if it is a holiday….there should be some system to receive the letter in emergency situations. He said there is a system. He said there is a dak (post) system and asked me to send someone with the letter and order. I sent the letter…an Under Secretary received it. Although he signed, he did not affix the seal,” he said.

“When the court has given Rahul Gandhi relief…my request to the Speaker and his office is that that there should not be any difficulty in his return to the House,” Chowdhury said, adding he has submitted three documents: the notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat in March disqualifying Gandhi; the order of the Supreme Court and the letter that he had written to the Speaker requesting reinstatement of Gandhi.

“I have done all that is required according to the rules…on behalf of my party…The speed with which Rahul Gandhi was disqualified…his reinstatement should happen with the same speed.” he added.

Asked whether he was blaming the Speaker or alleging a deliberate delay, he said: “I have no intention to put the Speaker in the dock. I have the highest respect for the Speaker. I am only asking for our rights. I am not asking for any separate facility. I am not asking for anything else.”

“Now the decision is up to the Speaker and the Secretary General. If they want to seek advice…consult someone…the Law Minister, they can do…but reinstate Gandhi before Monday when the House meets after the weekend break. The alacrity with which Rahul Gandhi was disqualified, we did not say anything then; the day he was asked to vacate his house, that day was also a holiday, today is also a holiday, us din ki tatparta kuch alag thi…aaj ki tatparta kuch dheemi lag rahi hai…” he said.

“There is no suspicion. Everybody should abide by the court’s order. Since it (reinstatement) has not happened so far, we are a bit restless. It is not rocket science, nuclear science or satellite science, it is a matter of seconds; they just have to draft a letter reinstating him,” he added.

Chowdhury said he tried to contact the Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh again Saturday evening but he did not come on the line. An angry Chowdhury told The Sunday Express: “Members always expect immediate and authoritative advice on Parliamentary procedures, rules and Constitutional matters from the Secretary General and it was strange that he did not come on (the) line to talk to me…If a Parliamentary officer shows the audacity to not to take the call of the Leader of the largest Opposition party… then I don’t know where we are heading,” Chowdhury said.

Singh, however, spoke to Chowdhury at around 10.30 pm. “He told me that the Secretariat is in possession of all the documents that we had submitted. I told him to reinstate Gandhi as soon as possible,” Chowdhury said.

“26 hours after Rahul Gandhi was “convicted” by the Sessions Court in Surat, the notification of his disqualification as MP was issued. 26 hours have passed since the Supreme Court stayed his wholly unjustified conviction. Why hasn’t his position as MP been restored yet? Is the Prime Minister afraid of his participation in the No Confidence Motion?” said Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh in a Twitter post.

Ruling that the trial court in Surat had not given reasons for awarding the maximum punishment of two years to Gandhi, the Supreme Court Friday stayed his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his 2019 remarks on the Modi surname.

The decision, by the bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and P V Sanjay Kumar, which heard Gandhi’s plea challenging the Gujarat High Court order declining to stay the conviction, paved the way for his return to Lok Sabha where he represented Wayanad in Kerala.

The Supreme Court bench noted that Gandhi’s remarks were “no doubt… in bad taste” and he should “have been more careful while making the public speech”.

He was found guilty of criminal defamation by a Surat magistrate court in a complaint filed by Surat West MLA Purnesh Modi of the BJP who objected to his remarks in Kolar in April 2019 – in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections – about thieves with the Modi surname. His appeal against the conviction is pending before the Surat Sessions Court.

The bench said the consequences of being disqualified as a result of the conviction would “not only affect the right of the appellant to continue in public life but also affect the right of the electorate, who have elected him, to represent their constituency”.