Rahul as LoP

CONGRESS leader Rahul Gandhi has taken charge as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha. This is the first constitutional position for Rahul, who has been in politics for the past two decades or so. No less important is the fact that the Congress, the single largest Opposition party, has got this post after a gap of 10 years. This is because of the party’s good performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections after the back-to-back debacles in the 2014 and 2019 polls. It was shortly after the rout in 2019 that Rahul had stepped down as the Congress president. Since then, he has been reluctant to take up any party post. Speculation that he was not keen to assume the mantle of the LoP has now finally been laid to rest.

A resurgent Opposition is banking on Rahul to spearhead its fight against the BJP-led NDA government both in Parliament and outside. In his first speech as the LoP, he said the government had political power, but the Opposition also represented the voice of India’s people. Congratulating Om Birla on being re-elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker, Rahul expressed hope that the Opposition would be allowed to speak in the House.

It will be Rahul’s responsibility to walk the talk on his assurance that the entire Opposition would assist the Speaker in the functioning of the House. With the BJP no longer all-powerful in the Lower House, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family needs to seize every opportunity to corner the government on contentious issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens and the Agnipath scheme. Much depends on him to ensure that the Opposition engages in a constructive debate with the government and resists the temptation of staging walkouts at the drop of a hat.