PTI Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia greets Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan as Mallikarjun Kharge looks on during an all-party meeting ahead of the budget session on Saturday.
Senior Congress leaders say that it would be appropriate to take the matter to court if the decision does not go in the party's favour.
As it became clear that Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is unlikely to grant Leader of the Opposition (LoP) status to the Congress, the principal opposition party continued to create public opinion on the subject with senior leaders saying that it would be appropriate to take the matter to court if the decision does not go in its favour.
The Congress, reduced to just 44 MPs in the House, feels that the denial of the LoP status could come in handy to demonstrate that the Modi government is “undemocratic,” and “intolerant of dissent.”
At the all-party meeting on Saturday convened by Ms. Mahajan, the issue did not figure at all, with Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge only saying cryptically that his party would behave in the House in the same way as the BJP had as an opposition party.
Questioned by journalists later, Ms. Mahajan simply said the meeting had been convened to discuss the business before the House. In the past, she had said she would take a decision on the issue before the budget session after consulting constitutional experts and “experienced” persons.
BJP sources have stressed that the electorate has not given the Congress the numbers to enable it to get the LoP status.
They also pointed out that in 1984, the Telugu Desam Party, the largest opposition party at that time, was not granted the position as it had won less than 10 per cent of the seats.
Ambiguity in the law and past rulings by the Chair have strengthened the case of the BJP.
‘A constitutional right’
The Congress case for grant of the LoP status is that it is not just a matter of status or perquisites or the ministerial rank that goes with the post that is important. What is critical is that the LoP in the Lok Sabha, thanks to Supreme Court decisions and legislative provisions, now plays a much larger systemic role.
The official LoP is a member of panels that selects key officials, including the Chief Commissioner of the Central Vigilance Commission , the Chief Information Commissioner, the Lokpal, the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the National Human Rights Commission and the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha.
On Wednesday, Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the LoP post was a “constitutional right” of the Congress as it is the biggest opposition party and heads the largest opposition pre-poll alliance.
Asked whether the Congress would go to court if denied the position, he said, “We will cross the bridge when we come to it. Why answer a hypothetical question at this juncture? No option will ever be ruled out.” When told that government representatives said the Speaker would decide the issue, Mr. Surjewala’s riposte was: “We all know the Speaker also consults government of the day.”
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