This Article is From Jul 30, 2014

Leader of Opposition or Not? In Speaker's Decision, Big Stakes For Congress

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has said she will take a decision on whether to grant the Congress party the position of Leader of Opposition in the House in "two to four days". She said she would first go through the Attorney General's opinion, which she had sought.

Ms Mahajan was emphatic that she would follow rules and precedents to arrive at a decision. She also pointed out that there have been no Leaders of Opposition when a party has not had the required numbers. "The first time the Lok Sabha had a Leader of Opposition was in 1969. There was none in 1980 or in 1984," Ms Mahajan said. (Also Read: 'Speaker Should Choose Leader of the Opposition Even If No Clear Applicable Rule': Somnath Chatterjee)

The Congress' chance of getting that post have become bleaker with Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi reportedly advising the Speaker that neither parliamentary tradition nor the law backs its demand. (Congress Slams Attorney General over Leader of Opposition Issue) Sources said Mr Rohatgi has underscored that the First Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar, had said that the Leader of the Opposition must belong to a party whose MPs match the quorum of the house - 55 law-makers. Mr Rohatgi said that policy has been followed for nearly 60 years, and has meant that there was no Leader of Opposition at different times. (Read more...)

The Congress has won only 44 seats this year's general elections, its lowest ever tally. But the party contends that it has more than 55 MPs when the numbers of its pre-election allies are added. It had earlier this month handed a petition to the Speaker signed by 60 parliamentarians, including the party's allies like Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. (Congress Should Get Leader of the Opposition Post, Says Sonia Gandhi)

The Congress has not yet taken the case to court, as some leaders had threatened to, but has made it clear that it will not give up without a fight.

The Leader of the Opposition is a Cabinet-rank post and is part of important committees headed by the Prime Minister which are in charge of selecting key appointees like the national ombudsman, the Lokpal, and the Chief Vigilance Commissioner.

The rules for some of these like the RTI Commissioners and Chief Vigilance Commissioner will allow the leader of the Congress to participate. Mallikarjun Kharge is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.

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