Rahul Gandhi Appointed as Leader of Opposition (LOP) After 10 Years: What This Means for Indian Politics

 Rahul Gandhi was elected as leader of the opposition (LoP) on Tuesday evening by the INDIA bloc.

It was announced by party general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal after a meeting held for INDIAbloc floor leaders at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge 's residence that CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi had written to pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab informing him about the decision. “Other office-bearers will be decided later,” he said.

What is  Leader Of Opposition (LoP)?

The Leader of the Opposition is the Parliamentary Chairperson of the largest political party in their respective legislative chamber that is not in government. Since the enactment of the constitution, the position of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) has been prominent. 

In 1969, Ram Subhag Singh was the first recognized LoP. The term "Leader of the Opposition" is defined as the member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha who, at the time, is the leader of the opposition party with the greatest numerical strength and is recognized as such by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. 

The Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act of 1977 officially recognized the position. For an opposition party to elect the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), they must have at least 10% of the Lok Sabha seats, which currently amounts to 54 seats.

As for the position of LoP in the past 10 years

Congress being the largest opposition party was not able to fulfill the minimum requirement. It got 44 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 52 in 2019 but this year it got 98 which is the largest among all opposition parties.

“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. The Congress party is strongly committed to protecting democracy and the Constitution by upholding its eternal principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity,” Kharge said on Tuesday.

Benefits and role of being a Leader of Opposition (LoP):-

As the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi would be a member of the important panel responsible for appointing the Lokpal, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Central Vigilance Commission, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chief, and many other central government-controlled positions. In addition, he would also receive the status of a cabinet minister's rank.