Today, August 7, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will be faced with a significant decision involving the reinstatement of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's membership.
Recently, on August 4, the Supreme Court took the step of halting the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case, thereby opening the path for his Lok Sabha membership to be reinstated.
Sources indicate that Birla's office has received the directives from the Supreme Court, and it is anticipated that he will make a decision regarding the restoration of Gandhi's membership on Monday, which is August 7.
The Congress is keen that Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership is restored by Monday at the earliest, which would pave the way for his participation in the no-confidence motion discussion, which is to begin on August 8, and continue till August 10, over a duration of 12 hours.
The documents pertaining to the Supreme Court's order in Rahul Gandhi's case have been received by the Speaker's office, sources said.
However, the process of reinstatement could potentially become protracted if the Lok Sabha secretariat opts to seek the opinion of the law ministry, similar to what occurred in the case of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Md Faizal earlier this year.
2 months delay in Lakshadweep MP's restoration of membership
In a parallel situation, the Lakshadweep MP obtained a stay on his conviction from the Kerala High Court in January, but he had to wait for nearly two months before being able to resume his duties in the Lok Sabha. "Nevertheless, the likelihood of such a course of action is slim. This ruling originates from the Supreme Court," remarked a senior official from the Lok Sabha, who requested anonymity.
Today, the floor leaders of the recently established Opposition alliance, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A), are scheduled to convene a meeting at 10 am in the office of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, within the Parliament premises. The purpose of this gathering is to outline the strategy for the upcoming parliamentary session.
In the case of Rahul Gandhi, the Supreme Court on August 4 stayed his conviction in a defamation case against him. A Surat court had earlier found him guilty and handed him the maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment – leading to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
The Gujarat High Court had refused to stay the conviction, after which Rahul Gandhi had appealed in the Supreme Court.
Katheria case
The Speaker will also decide on the potential disqualification of BJP MP Ram Shankar Katheria, who received a two-year imprisonment sentence from a special MP/MLA court in an older case related to rioting and causing harm.
A special MP/MLA court in Agra district on August 5, having sentenced Katheria, BJP MP from Etawah, to two years of imprisonment in a 12-year-old case, the Speaker is also likely to take a call on his possible disqualification, on Monday.
Katheria served as the minister of state in the HRD ministry during the first term of the Narendra Modi government, between November 2014 and July 2016. He was also the chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
(With inputs from IANS)
