THE CONGRESS announced on Tuesday evening that senior party leader and MP Rahul Gandhi will be the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. Announcing the decision after a meeting of the INDIA bloc floor leaders at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence, party general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal said 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. This will be the first time in 10 years that the Lok Sabha will have a Leader of Opposition. The Congress failed to get the required 10 per cent seats (54) to secure the post in the last two elections. While it had 44 Lok Sabha members in 2014 and 52 in 2019, it now has 98. In 2014, Kharge was made the Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha; in 2019, the post went to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. As the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul will be the Opposition’s voice in high-powered committees headed by the Prime Minister for appointment to key posts like the CBI Director, Central Vigilance Commissioner, Chief Information Commissioner, chairperson and members of the NHRC, and the Lokpal. “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 protect democracy and the Constitution by upholding its eternal principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity,” Kharge said on Tuesday. At the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi on June 8, a unanimous resolution was passed asking Rahul to become the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. The Congress had then said that Rahul was considering it. With Rahul deciding to take the post, the Congress – and the Opposition - has signalled that it will take on the BJP aggressively in the House. “If he didn’t become Leader of the Opposition, it would have seemed like Rahul was shying away from the chance to take on the PM,” said a party leader. During a recent press conference on the paper leak issue, Rahul had hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the Opposition would be more vocal in the House. On the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha session on Monday, he said the Opposition “will not allow the attack on the Constitution by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah”. “Psychologically on the backfoot, Narendra Modi is busy saving his government… INDIA’s strong opposition will continue its pressure, raise the voice of the people and will not allow the Prime Minister to escape without accountability,” he said.
