Congress Officially Denied Leader of the Opposition Position

TIR, 20 August 2014, New Delhi: Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that in a written communication, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has been conveyed that the party will not be entitled to the Leader of the opposition post in the Lok Sabha. Although the NDA government and the Speaker have rejected all pleas by the Congress, this is the first time that the party has been officially told of the decision.

According to Mahajan, while explaining her position on the issue, the letter has cited advice of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and the regulations pertaining to the Leader of Opposition appointment. The party is entitled fort the post only if it has won at least 10% or 55 seats in the Lok Sabha. Unfortunately for Congress, it was decimated in the general elections and gained only 44 seats. Former Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge is currently Congress head in the Lok Sabha.

Earlier, Kharge had submitted a petition to the Speaker with signatures of 60 MPs, which included Congress leaders and members of its allies, in order to stake claim on the Leader of Opposition post. However, Mahajan has repeatedly replied that if the main party did not have 10% strength in the house, the Leader of Opposition post can be vacant as it had remained so in the past on many occasions.

The decision comes after long negotiations. The situation became rather tense when different Opposition parties like the AIADMK and Trinamool Congress clearly stated that they would not sit near the Congress section in the Lok Sabha. Finally, the Speaker was able to get the seating chart that was acceptable to all and then announced the decision of not allotting Leader of Opposition to Congress.

The Leader of the Opposition is an important post as he or she is entitled to participate in committees along with the Prime Minister, in order to select candidates for important positions.