Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS): After Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha seat was reinstated and before he prepares to launch the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0, the Maharashtra Congress will felicitate senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai, party leaders said here on Tuesday.

A delegation of Maharashtra Congress bigwigs had gone to New Delhi to extend an invite to Gandhi for the event which is most likely to be held on August 31, on the sidelines of the upcoming INDIA’s third national opposition conclave, which will be hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray.

State party President Nana Patole said that after the Supreme Court stayed Gandhi’s conviction, there is a huge wave of excitement and support in the Congress and among the general masses.

“A clear message has gone out that Rahul Gandhi has fearlessly and unflinchingly exposed the affairs of the Bharatiya Janata Party government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and that’s why they hatched a conspiracy against him,” reiterated Patole.

As a tribute to his fighting spirit against authoritarianism and corruption, the state Congress has planned a grand felicitation pgoramme for Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai later this month, he said.

A delegation of Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, state party Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan and ex-CM Ashok Chavan have met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and have also extended an invite to Gandhi for the felicitation program.