This Article is From Jun 05, 2014

Capt. Amarinder Singh is Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha

Capt. Amarinder Singh is Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha

File photo of former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today appointed former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh as the party's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha. She had earlier this week sprung a surprise by naming former railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge as the party's leader in the House.

Both Mr Kharge and Mr Singh, interestingly, are of the same age, 72.

Mr Singh had defeated Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley in Amritsar in a fiercely-contested election. The senior BJP leader, however, continues to remain a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Mrs Gandhi also appointed the Congress' whips in the Lok Sabha. Former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, 43, will be the party's main floor manager. He will be assisted by another former union minister K C Venugopal and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda.

Mr Scindia was one of the two Congress leaders who could save their seats in Madhya Pradesh. The other, of course, was Kamal Nath, the former union minister who won from Chindwara for the nineth term.

Mr Venugopal, 51, managed to retain his Alappuzha seat, while Mr Hooda, 36, was the lone Congress winner from Haryana.
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