New Delhi: The another major party of India and former party which had run government of India for maximum term since independence of India is today gathering the signatures of 60-odd Member of Parliaments to support Congress’s claim for the post of Leader of Opposition.
Meanwhile INC leaders claimed that the letter is ready and will be signed by 64 MPs of the Congress and its partners in the UPA.
Some sources claimed, “Many have already signed but some MPs were not present. We will try and get them signed today to give to the Speaker’s office at the earliest.”
Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on Monday said, “We are the single largest (opposition) party and we have a pre-poll alliance. We are entitled to the post.”
The Congress, with 44 members, is the second-largest party in the Lok Sabha but falls short of the 10 percent mark – 55 members in the 545-member house – which the ruling BJP has cited as a prerequisite for Leader of Opposition status.
The BJP also cites precedent from previous Congress regimes, including the Jawaharlal Nehru government, which did not have Leaders of Opposition.
However Congress leader Anand Sharma said, “There is only one law of 1977 and that law says the Leader of Opposition should go to the largest single party. No other statutes define the post. If we are denied it, this shall be contested and fought.”
He also said that four statutory bodies required the vote of the Leader of Opposition, the Central Vigilance Commission, the anti-graft Lokpal, the Chief Information Commission and the National Human Rights Commission.
Bureau Report
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