Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been appointed as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha by INDIA bloc MPs, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal announced.
“CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing the decision of appointment of Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha,” Venugopal said at a press briefing after the decision was taken in the meeting of the INDIA bloc.
“Other office bearers will be decided later,” he added.
The INDIA bloc parties met at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in New Delhi and took the decision to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the LoP in Lok Sabha.
Supriya Sule of NCP(SP), TMC MP Derek O’Brien, and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leader Hamunan Beniwal were among the floor leaders present at the meeting.
“Congress is the largest member of the INDIA bloc. They won 99 seats in Lok Sabha polls 2024, and Rahul Gandhi played a key role in it. We are glad that he has been appointed as Leader of Opposition,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey told reporters.
The Congress leader has been MP for five terms, and currently represents the Rae Bareli constituency in the lower house of the parliament.
He took oath as an MP while holding a copy of the Constitution wearing while collared t-shirt, his signature dress of the past few years.
Congress has got the post of opposition leader after a gap of 10 years as it didn’t have the required 10 per cent members required in the Lok Sabha to secure the post in the last two Lok Sabhas.
Rahul Gandhi had given an indication last week when he said that party president Kharge had “threatened” him to accept the post.
The appointment of Rahul Gandhi as LoP in Lok Sabha comes ahead of the election to the for the post of speaker.
