New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was restored on Monday, days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a defamation case.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification announcing that his disqualification has been revoked and his membership restored.

"In continuation of notification ... dated 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 Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala, which was ordered by the judgment dated 23.03.2023 of the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat...

"In view of order dated 04.08.2023 of the Supreme Court of India, the disqualification of Shri Rahul Gandhi ... 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," the notification read.

Following restoration of his membership, the Congress said it would like him to be a key speaker in the debate on no-confidence motion likely to be taken up in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member on March 24, with effect from March 23 after a Gujarat court convicted him in a defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail.

A punishment for two years and above automatically disqualifies a lawmaker.

The Supreme Court on Friday last stayed his conviction, paving the way for restoration of his Lok Sabha membership.

He represents Wayanad in the lower house.

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Chandigarh (PTI): The AQI in several places in Haryana and some in neighbouring Punjab was recorded in the 'poor' and 'very poor' categories on Friday, the morning after Diwali.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the Union Territory of Chandigarh was also in the 'very poor' category.

At 9 am on Friday, the AQI was recorded at 344 in Haryana's Gurugram, 340 in Jind, 308 in Ambala and 304 in Kurukshetra, according to the Sameer app that provides hourly updates of the national AQI published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', 401 and 450 'severe' and above 450 'severe plus'.

Among other places in Haryana, the AQI was recorded at 289 in Bahadurgarh, 224 in Ballabhgarh, 288 in Bhiwani, 228 in Charkhi Dadri, 236 in Faridabad, 248 in Fatehabad, 252 in Hisar, 232 in Karnal, 251 in Panchkula, 272 in Rohtak, 259 in Sonipat, 217 in Sirsa and 265 in Yamunanagar.

Chandigarh's AQI was recorded at 303.

In Punjab, Amritsar's AQI was also in the 'very poor' category with a reading of 314.

The AQI in Mandi Gobindgarh was at 331, Khanna at 308, Jalandhar at 253, Ludhiana at 214 and Patiala at 260.

The authorities had granted permission to burn only green crackers for a restricted period on Diwali.

In Chandigarh, the twin capital of Punjab and Haryana, green crackers were allowed between 8 pm and 10 pm. However, in many parts of the city, people continued to burst crackers well past the 10 pm limit.

The Punjab government had recently said only green crackers would be allowed during Diwali, Gurpurab, Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Only green crackers, which are free from barium salts or compounds of antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic, lead or strontium chromate, are permitted for sale and use in Punjab, an official statement had said earlier.