In a significant development, the Congress party has announced that senior leader Rahul Gandhi will assume the position of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the 18th Lok Sabha. This marks the first time in a decade that the Lower House will have an LoP, as the Congress party has the requisite numbers to claim the post.
The decision was made after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Tuesday. “Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson (Sonia Gandhi) wrote to Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing him of the decision to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha,” said AICC general secretary KC Venugopal.
As LoP, Gandhi will lead a strong and diverse Opposition group against the Modi government. He will also be a member of important panels on key appointments such as the Lokpal, CBI chief, Chief Election Commissioner, and other Election Commissioners, besides the selection of the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Information Commission, and the NHRC chief.
Gandhi, who turned 54 last week, has been an MP for five terms and currently represents the Rae Bareli constituency in the Lok Sabha, previously held by his mother Sonia Gandhi. He took oath as an MP on Tuesday while holding a copy of the Constitution.
Though he won from two constituencies – Wayanad in Kerala and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh – he resigned from the Wayanad constituency, from where his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would now contest.
Kharge hailed the decision, saying in the 18th Lok Sabha, the House of the People shall truly reflect the aspirations of the last person standing, with Rahul Gandhi becoming their voice. “As Congress President, I am confident that a leader who has traversed the length and breadth of the country from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and from Manipur to Maharashtra shall raise the voice of the people – especially the marginalised and the poor,” he said.
Several leaders lauded and thanked Rahul Gandhi for accepting the position and hoped he would remain the voice of people in Parliament by raising their issues. “We are confident that as LOP, Rahul ji will be a bold voice for the common people of India and ensure that the NDA government is held firmly accountable at all times,” Venugopal later said.
Notably, this is the first time in ten years that the Lok Sabha will have a Leader of Opposition. In the previous two Lok Sabha terms, Congress was the largest opposition party but it did not have the requisite numbers, which is one-tenth of the strength of the House. In the 16th Lok Sabha, the Congress had 44 MPs, while in the 17th Lok Sabha it had 55. However, this time, the Congress party has 99 MPs – the highest number of MPs among the opposition parties.
The post of LoP received statutory recognition through the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977, which defines the term as that member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha who, for the time being, is the leader of that House of the party in opposition to the government having the greatest numerical strength and recognised as such by the chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the speaker of the Lok Sabha.Rahul Gandhi’s appointment as LoP comes amid heightened acrimony between the NDA and an emboldened Opposition, which has 236 MPs in the Lok Sabha. He is likely to participate in the debate on the Speaker’s election later this week.
