NCP MP Faizal reinstated

New Delhi:  NCP leader Mohammad Faizal P P was back in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as his disqualification from the lower house was revoked after over 10 weeks and hours ahead of the hearing in the Supreme Court on his petition in the matter. Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh issued a notification restoring the membership of Faizal, who represents Lakshadweep in the lower house, citing the suspension of his conviction and 10-year jail term by the Kerala High Court in an attempt to murder case. The decision came against the backdrop of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case with a two-year jail term by a trial court in Gujarat. Gandhi is yet to appeal to a higher court against the verdict.

The NCP welcomed the revocation of Faizal's suspension but expressed strong displeasure over the delay by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Faizal was disqualified from Lok Sabha on January 13, after he and three others were sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs one lakh each by a sessions court in Kavaratti for attempting to murder Mohammed Salih, son-in-law of the late Union Minister P M Sayeed, during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

"It was not expected from the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The Election Commission had put the notification on the bypolls on hold after the high court suspended my conviction but the other constitutional body was sitting on the files. This was not fair on behalf of the Lok Sabha Secretariat," Faizal told reporters here. Faizal, who was present in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, said he had to approach the Supreme Court to get himself reinstated. He also met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla along with NCP floor leader SupriyaSule.