New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, set to be Leader of Opposition, shook hands today in parliament as they together welcomed the newly re-elected Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, marking a fresh chapter in the 18th Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi is the third member of the Gandhi family to take the post of the Leader of the Opposition. Mr Gandhi follows in the footsteps of his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who served from 1999 to 2004, and his father, Rajiv Gandhi, who was the Leader of the Opposition from 1989 to 1990.

Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared the election results after the Opposition, which had put forward Congress MP K Suresh as its candidate, chose not to push for a vote on the motion.

Following the announcement, Prime Minister Modi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju approached Mr Birla’s seat in the front row of the treasury benches to escort him to the Speaker’s chair. Accompanying them was Rahul Gandhi.

“It is a matter of honour that you have been elected to this chair for the second time,” PM Modi said, congratulating Mr Birla. “I congratulate you on behalf of the entire House and look forward to your guidance for the next five years. Your sweet smile keeps the entire House happy.”

“I would like to congratulate you on behalf of the entire opposition and the INDIA alliance,” said Rahul Gandhi. “You are the final arbiter of people’s voice. The government may have political power, but Opposition also represents the voice of the people. Opposition would like to assist you in your work, I am confident you will allow us to speak in House.”

The history of the Leader of the Opposition in India dates back to 1969 when Ram Suhag Singh first held the post. Since then, this role has evolved to become a cornerstone of parliamentary democracy. The Leader of the Opposition plays a key part in the appointment of key officials such as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), and members of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and the Lokayukta.

 

Taking the fight to the ruling BJP-led NDA, Rahul Gandhi has accepted a decision by the Congress Working Committee and will take up the mantle of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. 

The decision comes hours before the first big battle of the 18th Lok Sabha, between a resurgent opposition and a diminished ruling coalition, over the post of Speaker. 

Denied an assurance that an opposition member would be given the post of Deputy Speaker, as is the tradition, the Congress and the INDIA bloc decided to force an election for the post of Speaker at the last minute by putting up K Suresh as its candidate against the BJP’s pick, Om Birla, who was the Speaker in the last Lok Sabha.

New Delhi:

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, widely expected to shoulder the responsibilities of the Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha, is not inclined to take up the post, sources in the party have confided. Three senior leaders — Kumari Selja, Gaurav Gogoi and Manish Tiwari — are being considered for the job, sources said.

The Opposition will have a leader in the Lok Sabha after a decade following its hugely improved performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. Ninety-nine of its 232 seats have come from the Congress, and as the largest party in the Opposition benches, it is expected name the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Yatra was widely cited as the reason for the Congress boost — the party won 44 seats in 2014 and 52 in 2019 — was expected to take more responsibility in parliament. There has been considerable pressure on him from various leaders on this point.

The post would have given him Cabinet rank, help coordinate better with allies in the INDIA bloc and helped the Congress project a strong face by spearheading the Opposition attack on the BJP in the Lok Sabha.

But sources said Mr Gandhi, who even stepped down from the party chief’s post following the rout in 2019, is not keen on it. He has avoided taking up any post since, sources added.

Mr Gandhi has also decided to represent his mother Sonia Gandhi’s constituency, Raebareli, in parliament, sources said. An announcement is expected this evening.

He will give up Wayanad, from where his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is expected to contest.

The other family bastion in Uttar Pradesh, Amethi, is already back in Congress hands, with long-time Gandhi family aide KL Sharma besting the BJP’s former Union minister Smriti Irani.

Ms Gandhi Vadra had not contested in the general election, choosing instead to focus on campaigning for the party. Sources said she had reservations about all three Gandhis being in parliament, concerned that it would give ammunition to the BJP for its “dynastic politics” allegation. Sonia Gandhi is a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.