Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday was reinstated as the Member of Parliament by the Lok Sabha secretariat after the country's apex court relief in the 2019 Modi surname defamation case. 

Gandhi was reinstated as Wayanad MP.

In its notification, the Lok Sabha secretariat stated, "In continuation of Notification No. 21/4(3)/2023/TO(B), dated the 24th March, 2023, the Supreme Court of India has passed an order on 04.08.2023 in Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 8644/2023, staying the conviction of Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala, which was ordered by the judgment dated23.03.2023 of the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat in C.C./ 18712/2019." 

"In view of order dated 04.08.2023 of the Supreme Court of India, the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi, notified vide Gazette Notification no. 21/4(3)/2023/TO(B) dated the 24th March, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, has ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements," it added.

Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge while sharing a video of celebrating Rahul Gandhi's comeback as MP along with party members, wrote, "The decision to reinstate Shri @RahulGandhi as an MP is a welcome step. 

It brings relief to the people of India, and especially to Wayanad. 

Whatever time is left of their tenure, BJP and Modi Govt should utilise that by concentrating on actual governance rather than denigrating Democracy by targeting opposition leaders."

According to a report by India today, the Congress said it would like Rahul Gandhi to be a key speaker in the debate on no-confidence motion likely to be taken up in Lok Sabha on Tuesday following the restoration of the Congress leader.

On August 4, the Supreme Court had stayed Gandhi's conviction in the Modi surname case, paving the way for his reinstatement as Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala.

A metropolitan magistrate court in Surat on March 23 sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal defamation in the case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.

Gandhi was convicted for his remark "all thieves have Modi surname" which he had made at an election rally in Karnataka's Kolar in 2019.

A day later, on March 24, Gandhi, who was elected as Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, was disqualified under provisions of the Representat

ion of the People Act.