Rahul Gandhi, Indian opposition leader, reinstated as lawmaker days after top court’s order

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been reinstated as a lawmaker in Parliament three days after the country’s top court halted his criminal defamation conviction for mocking the prime minister’s surname. Gandhi’s status as a lawmaker was restored by Parliament on Monday. His reinduction is likely to strengthen the opposition’s effort to corner Narendra Modi’s government ahead of a no-confidence motion this week over deadly ethnic violence that has roiled India’s northeastern state of Manipur. Gandhi is a fierce critic of Modi and his main challenger in the 2024 polls. He was ousted from Parliament after his conviction by a magistrate’s court in March for mocking Modi’s surname.