Is BJP looking to deny Congress Leader of Opposition role?

While the decision on whether the Congress party will be given the post of Leader of Opposition is yet to be taken by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, the BJP is already working to deny the main opposition party that Parliamentary privilege. [caption id=“attachment_1572825” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] The Modi-led government is reportedly insisting on the 10 percent strength eligibility criteria for an Opposition party to get the LOP post. The Congress, which has just 44 seats in Lok Sabha, falls short by 10 seats of the required 55. The BJP’s argument is based on a six-decade-old ruling by India’s first Speaker GV Mavalankar [Direction 121(1)]. According to a report in The Economic Times, the ruling BJP is also relying on the 1998 Parliament (facilities) Act in its attempt to deny the LOP position to the Congress. The 1998 law states that a party must have a minimum strength of 55 seats to be accorded the status of a ‘recognised party’. It is this section that threatens to demote the Congress from a ‘recognised party’ to a ‘recognised group’ in the Lok Sabha. A party with a strength of 30-54 MPs in the LS would be recognised as a “group”, and one with a strength of above 55 be a “recognised party”, the law states, further defining the Leader of Opposition as “the leader in that House of the party in opposition to the government having the greatest numerical strength”, the report states. Section 2 of this act specifies that the cutoff for Lok Sabha is 55 members and Rajya Sabha is 25, each of which is about 10 percent of the total strength of the respective House. But the Congress party is banking on ’the salary and allowances of leaders of opposition in Parliament Act, 1977’ section 2 of which defines the Leader of Opposition in each House as “the leader in that House of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength”. Congress leader Anand Sharma, in an interview to a TV channel said the constitution recognises a political alliance and in this case it is the UPA, of which the Congress is the main party. “UPA is a pre-poll alliance and UPA together has more than the adequate numbers. When government formation takes place, whether NDA or UPA, it is the pre-poll alliance which the President of India recognizes,” Sharma said. However, the Congress party is a divided house over the issue. A report in the Asian Age states that a section of the All India Congress Committee is of the opinion that the party should not ‘beg’ for the post. “We should honour the people’s mandate. If we failed to get 55 seats in the House then why should we beg for the post ? Is it because of the Cabinet status or for other purposes. If the government wants to bypass the main Opposition in the appointments of Lokpal, CVC and other constitutional bodies merely on technical grounds, then let them do so. We have Parliament, the highest forum to raise issues,” a senior party leader told the daily. Former Law minister Veerappa Moily dismissed any suggestion that Congress could not get the position based on an earlier ruling of the Speaker which is now a direction. “The practice has been to read Direction 121 of the Directions of the Speaker which says that in recognising a Parliamentary Party or Group, the Speaker should ensure that it shall have at least a strength equal to the quorum fixed to constitute a sitting of the House, that is one-tenth of the total number of members of the House… in this context it may be mentioned that directions of the Speaker cannot override a statutory requirement,” he said. What is interesting though is whether the government will be able to function smoothly without a Leader of Opposition. Many provisions in the Acts of Parliament have recognised and assigned a definite role for the Leader of Opposition in appointments to statutory bodies and authorities such as the Lokpal and the CVC. The Speaker is expected to give her ruling in early July, when the House meets for the Budget session of Parliament.