Rahul Gandhi Becomes Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 26: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his support for Rahul Gandhi, who has been appointed as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha. Siddaramaiah said, “I wanted Rahul Gandhi to be the leader of the opposition to tackle BJP. I also urged the same with Rahul Gandhi and in the working committee meeting. I congratulate him on becoming the LoP.”
On Tuesday, Congress declared that Rahul Gandhi, MP from Raebareli, will be the Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha, ending a 10-year period without a LoP in the Lower House since 2014. Venugopal announced, “Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been appointed as the LoP in the Lok Sabha.”
Rahul Gandhi won from both Raebareli and Wayanad constituencies in the recent Lok Sabha polls. He won with a margin of 364,422 votes from Wayanad, defeating Communist Party of India’s Annie Raja, and with a margin of 390,030 votes from Raebareli, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party’s Dinesh Pratap Singh. However, Rahul Gandhi decided to resign as an MP from Wayanad and keep the Raebareli constituency. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad last week.
If Priyanka Gandhi wins from Wayanad, three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family will be in Parliament: Sonia Gandhi in Rajya Sabha, and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.
The leader of the largest opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of the total strength of the Lok Sabha is recognized as the Leader of the Opposition. The LoP will be a member of crucial committees such as Public Accounts (Chairman), Public Undertakings, Estimates, and several Joint Parliamentary Committees. The LoP is also entitled to be a member of various selection committees responsible for appointing heads of statutory bodies like the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Information Commission, the CBI, the NHRC, and the Lokpal.
