SC grants relief to Rahul; celebrations erupt in Wayanad

Thiruvananthapuram: The Supreme Court's decision to stay Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a criminal defamation case sparked celebrations in Wayanad on Friday.

The Surat lower court convicted Gandhi on March 23 in a criminal defamation case stemming from the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign and centred around Gandhi's remark, "How come all thieves have the common surname Modi."

This remark was interpreted as an attempt to draw an implicit connection between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.

Congress supporters at a few places in Wayanad took to the streets expressing their joy and the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee has asked all the 14 district units of the party to celebrate the apex court verdict later in the day.

Incidentally, Wayanad expressed its full support to Gandhi when he arrived in the hilly district on April 11 when he addressed a mammoth meeting of his supporters, which was his first after being disqualified.

Three-time Congress legislator and Youth Congress president Shafi Parambil said, "This is going to be a huge boost and people of Wayanad will certainly rejoice.

“We all saw how the people reached out to him when he came to ‘his’ constituency after he was disqualified,” said Parambil.

Meanwhile, the state party headquarters in the capital city has started getting crowded as the news came that top leaders, including veteran legislator Ramesh Chennithala, will be arriving and sweets will be distributed.

Now all eyes are on how quickly Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership is be restored as it took several weeks for the Lakshadweep NCP MP Mohammed Faizal after the Kavaratti Sessions Court sentenced him in a criminal case that was stayed by the Kerala High Court.

Rahul Gandhi won the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad with a staggering over four lakh-vote margin.

With inputs from IANS