Rahul Gandhi: After the results of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the government was formed. Since then, there was constant discussion on who would be the leader of the opposition in the House? Now this discussion has also come to an end and Rahul Gandhi, MP from Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh and veteran Congress leader, will be the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha. This was announced by the Congress party.
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said that Rahul Gandhi will be the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. This decision has been taken in the Congress meeting. In this regard, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to the Protem Speaker and informed that Rahul Gandhi will be the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Gave information by writing a letter- KC Venugopal
Venugopal said, “I wrote a letter to the temporary president Bhartruhari Mahtab and informed him about the decision to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.” He further said, “The decision on other office bearers will be taken later.”
A proposal was passed to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition
This decision has come during the tussle between the ruling party and the opposition for the post of Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. BJP has nominated Om Birla for this post while Congress has nominated K Suresh.
Earlier on June 9, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had passed a resolution to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha. After the CWC meeting, Rahul Gandhi had said that he needed some time to think about it and only after that a decision would be taken.
The Congress has almost doubled its number of seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from 52 in 2019 to 99. In the 2014 elections, the party was successful in winning only 44 seats.
After all why is the post of Leader of Opposition so important
The Leader of Opposition has the status of a cabinet minister. However, this is not the only reason why this post is considered very important. In fact, along with performing the responsibility of the opposition, the Leader of Opposition is also a part of many joint parliamentary panels and selection committees. These include the committees for the appointment of the CBI Director, Central Vigilance Commissioner, Chief Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India and Election Commissioners, Chief Information Commissioner, Lokayukta and the Chairman and members of the National Human Rights Commission. As the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi will have direct interference in these decisions. In the decisions of these committees, the consent of the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will also be necessary along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rahul Gandhi has been attacking the government on the issue of CBI and other such agencies. In such a situation, he is also going to have an important role in the appointment of top officials of these agencies.
Along with this, as the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi will also be the head of the accounts committee. In such a situation, he will keep a close eye on the economic decisions of the government and will also be able to review them. The accounts committee itself examines the government expenditure, so Rahul Gandhi is going to get this responsibility automatically along with the leader of the opposition.
This is the salary of the Leader of Opposition and the facilities he gets
The MP holding the post of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha gets salary equal to that of a Union Minister and gets allowances and other facilities accordingly. The Leader of Opposition gets a salary of Rs 3.30 lakh per month. Along with this, he gets a bungalow of the level of a Cabinet Minister’s residence. Along with this, the facility of a car with driver is also provided. Along with this, there is also a staff of 14 people to fulfill the responsibilities.
Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have also been the Leader of the Opposition
Rahul Gandhi is the third member of the Gandhi family to become the Leader of the Opposition. His father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi have both been the Leader of the Opposition. Rajiv Gandhi held this post from 18 December 1989 to 24 December 1990. His mother Sonia Gandhi held this post from 13 October 1999 to 6 February 2004.
54 MPs are required for the Leader of the Opposition
Sushma Swaraj was the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha for the last time from 2009 to 2014. However, after her, this post has now been given to Rahul Gandhi. The reason behind not having a Leader of Opposition for 10 years was that in the 2014 and 2019 elections, no opposition party had won 54 MPs. According to the rules, to become the Leader of Opposition, you must have 10% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, that is, 54 MPs. Both times, Congress did not have that many MPs. However, this time Congress has managed to win 99 seats.
According to sources, Rahul Gandhi was reluctant to take the post of Leader of Opposition. However, he accepted the demands of the party and his mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi also encouraged him to do so.
