Cong denied Leader of Opposition post in LS
20 Aug 2014 5:51 AM IST
The leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha will not get the status of Leader of Opposition. Their plea was rejected by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday.
Sources said Mahajan’s letter rejecting the demand for status of Leader of Opposition has been sent to the Congress party headquarters. Speaking to media persons over the issue, Mahajan said, ‘A Speaker is supposed to follow rules. If anybody wants a change in them, a committee can be formed to look into them but I have gone by rules and tradition.’
Referring to the rule book, Mahajan claimed she is not in a position to give the Congress party the Leader of Opposition status because it does not have the minimum 55 seats required to stake claim.
Earlier, Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a letter to Mahajan had requested for the status of the Leader of Opposition to Mallikarjun Kharge. Kharge is the Congress party’s group leader in the House.
Considering the issue very sensitive, the Speaker had also taken the advice of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. Congress is the second largest group in the Lok Sabha with 44 seats, while the ruling party BJP has 282 seats. Being the second largest party in the Lok Sabha, Congress leaders demanded that their group leader should be given the status of Leader of Opposition.
Sources said Mahajan’s letter rejecting the demand for status of Leader of Opposition has been sent to the Congress party headquarters. Speaking to media persons over the issue, Mahajan said, ‘A Speaker is supposed to follow rules. If anybody wants a change in them, a committee can be formed to look into them but I have gone by rules and tradition.’
Referring to the rule book, Mahajan claimed she is not in a position to give the Congress party the Leader of Opposition status because it does not have the minimum 55 seats required to stake claim.
Earlier, Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a letter to Mahajan had requested for the status of the Leader of Opposition to Mallikarjun Kharge. Kharge is the Congress party’s group leader in the House.
Considering the issue very sensitive, the Speaker had also taken the advice of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. Congress is the second largest group in the Lok Sabha with 44 seats, while the ruling party BJP has 282 seats. Being the second largest party in the Lok Sabha, Congress leaders demanded that their group leader should be given the status of Leader of Opposition.
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