Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Is The Leader of Opposition In Lok Sabha – News18

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, party general secretary KC Venugopal announced on Tuesday.

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab informing him about Rahul Gandhi’s appointment as the LoP in the lower house of Parliament.

Earlier today, the lawmaker from Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli took oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha. The Congress leader held up a copy of the Constitution during the oath-taking and ended his oath with “Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhan” chants.

What Are LoP Privileges?

This will be the first time in ten years that there will be a Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as the Congress, which won 99 seats, is now entitled to the post. After the Lok Sabha election, the Congress had passed a single-line resolution to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.

Reax Pour In After Rahul Gandhi Named LoP

BJP leader Amit Malviya took a jibe a the former Congress chief over his LoP appointment, calling him “third time fail”.

“On the eve of I.N.D.I Alliance’s first defeat (in the 18th Lok Sabha) on the floor of the House, Congress has announced Third Time Fail Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition. Something surreal about the impeccable timing…”

On the other hand, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that he is confident that Rahul Gandhi, 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.

Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal said that Rahul Gandhi will be a bold voice for the common people of India and ensure that the NDA government is held firmly accountable at all times.

WHY WAS THERE NO LOP IN LOK SABHA FOR LAST 10 YEARS?

The post of Leader of the Opposition has remained vacant since 2014, as no opposition party has managed to secure 10 per cent of the seats.

Following the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) defeat in 2014, the Grand Old Party was reduced to 44 seats in the Lok Sabha.

After the 2014 debacle, the ruling BJP government, through the appointed Speaker, declined to recognise the Congress party’s leader as the Leader of Opposition.

In 2019, although the Congress improved its seat tally slightly, it still fell short of the required 54 seats to claim the LoP position.