Wayanad: Congress workers in Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency are eagerly waiting for Rahul Gandhi's return to the constituency as Lok Sabha MP after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his Modi surname remark on Friday. They expressed hope that the Lok Sabha secretariat would soon reinstate Rahul Gandhi as their MP.
Party workers distributed sweets in many parts of the hill constituency represented by Gandhi in Lok Sabha before his disqualification after his conviction in the case a few months ago.
"We've got our leader back (in the constituency)," a Congress worker told a TV channel, expressing his happiness over the verdict.
"Finally, Rahul Gandhi has got justice from the Apex Court. It's a verdict against the BJP's politics of vengeance," Salih, a Congress worker, said.
Vinod Kumar, another Congress worker from Wayanad, said "all of us who believe in democracy are overjoyed with today's Supreme Court verdict. It is a verdict against Modi."
Shamsudeen, a voter in Wayanad, said it was the happiest moment for the people of Wayanad as they got their MP, who knows the pulse of his people.
Congress leader from Wayanad and MLA I C Balakrishnan, representing Sultan Batheri constituency in the State Assembly, said Gandhi had intervened in the issues of the people of Wayanad even after his disqualification as MP.
Senior Congress MP and former KPCC president K Muraleedharan said the party leaders and workers were confident that Rahul Gandhi would get justice the moment the case reached the Supreme Court from the Gujarat Court.
"We have our faith in the Apex Court, and we are all happy. This verdict is most welcomed as the presence of him (Rahul) is essential in Parliament in these situations," Muraleedharan told reporters in Kottayam.
The Lok Sabha speaker can now revive his membership on his own or Gandhi, armed with the apex court order, seek restoration of his status as an MP.
Soon after the Supreme Court ruling, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met Birla and urged him to restore Gandhi's membership.
A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar said no reason was given by the trial court judge while convicting Gandhi except that he was admonished by the apex court in a contempt case.
The top court had closed the contempt proceedings against Gandhi for wrongly attributing to it his "chowkidar chor hai" remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the Rafale case, with a warning to be more careful in future after the senior Congress leader tendered an unconditional apology.
The term of the 17th Lok Sabha ends in May 2024.
The top court said in so far as conviction is concerned, it has considered that the sentence for an offence punishable under section 499 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code is maximum two years imprisonment or fine or both, and the trial judge has awarded the maximum sentence of two years.
(With PTI inputs)
