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Journalism of Courage
The Lok Sabha secretariat Monday morning cleared Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s return to Parliament via a notification days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks on the ‘Modi’ surname.
Jubilant over Gandhi’s return to the Lok Sabha, MPs shouted slogans in support of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc, and within minutes the Lower House was adjourned for an hour till noon.
Sources said the Congress leader was expected to reach the Parliament by 11.30 am – with his mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra – and join the House when it resumes functioning at 12 noon.
When the House met at 11 am, Congress MPs stood up and started shouting slogans including “Rahul Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi”. BJP MPs rose from their seats to shout them down, but Union ministers Anurag Thakur and Pralhad Joshi were seen asking them to sit down. Speaker Om Birla took up the Question Hour but the Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MPs continued to stand near their seats. No Opposition MP went to the Well of the House.
“Garv se bolo INDIA, paschim bolo India, purv bolo India,” Opposition leaders shouted. The speaker warned them that the House cannot be disturbed with slogans, and asked them to attend the Question Hour, but the MPs refused to pay heed.
Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP on March 23 this year after he was convicted by a Gujarat court and sentenced to two years in jail in the defamation case.
