Rahul Gandhi will be the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, the Congress announced on June 25.
The announcement was made after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA group in Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s official residence. The decision came on a day when Mr. Gandhi took oath as an MP for the fifth consecutive term.
“Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson [Sonia Gandhi] has already sent a letter to pro tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing that Rahul Gandhi will be the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha,” party general (organisation) K.C. Venugopal told reporters.
“We are confident that as LoP, Rahulji will be a bold voice for the common people of India and ensure that the NDA government is held firmly accountable at all times,” Mr. Venugopal added in a post on X.
As LoP, Mr. Gandhi is likely to open the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address when the Lok Sabha takes it up later this week or next week.
The Congress did not secure the official post of LoP in the 2014 and 2019 general elections as the party didn’t have 10% strength of the 543-member Lok Sabha. However, with 99 MPs, the party is now entitled to the post, and therefore, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had urged Mr. Gandhi to take over the responsibility.
