India: Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returns to Parliament after suspension of sentence

2023-08-07T15:15:06.319Z

Highlights: Rahul Gandhi returned to parliament on Monday (August 7th), three days after the Supreme Court suspended his defamation conviction. The leader of the Congress party, the main opposition force to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, can now look forward with more serenity to the general elections next spring. His presence should reinvigorate the other 50 deputies of his Congress party and he could speak as early as Tuesday, August 8. But the impact of this return is wider: the heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has twice been a candidate for the post of Prime Minister, and he will be able to run in the next legislative elections.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returned to parliament on Monday (August 7th), three days after the Supreme Court suspended his defamation conviction. The leader of the party...

India: Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returns to Parliament after suspension of sentence

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returned to parliament on Monday (August 7th), three days after the Supreme Court suspended his defamation conviction. The leader of the Congress party, the main opposition force to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, can therefore look forward with more serenity to the general elections next spring.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi arrives at parliament after his sentence is suspended, in New Delhi, August 7, 2023 © Reuters

Text by: RFI Follow

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With our correspondent in New Delhi, Sébastien Farcis

Rahul Gandhi first paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, whose statue stands in front of Parliament (and with whom he has no blood relationship), before returning to the lower house for the first time since his exclusion four months ago. His presence should reinvigorate the other 50 deputies of his Congress party, and Rahul Gandhi could speak as early as Tuesday, August 8, during the debate on the motion of censure tabled by his party.

But the impact of this return is wider: the heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has twice been a candidate for the post of Prime Minister, and he will be able to run in the next legislative elections next May - unless the Supreme Court soon confirms his two-year prison sentence.

Rahul Gandhi, however, is far less popular than current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Congress has entered a broad coalition of opponents to defeat Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist party (BJP).

India: Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returns to Parliament after suspension of sentence

India: Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returns to Parliament after suspension of sentence

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