Congress says it has rightful claim to leader of opposition post

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday again reiterated its claim over the post of leader of opposition in Lok Sabha while accusing the BJP government of resorting to petty politics.

The party asserted that it has the rightful claim to the post, hoping that Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will not allow her judgement to be "coloured" by various shades of politics.

"The post of LoP is a right of the Congress. It is not for the government to give it to us. It is important, inherent and necessary for the proper functioning of parliamentary form of government," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

He argued that the Congress is a natural claimant for the post both as the biggest party and also as the leader of the biggest pre-poll alliance other than the ruling alliance.

The Congress leader alleged that the government is playing petty politics over an important issue like LoP, urging it to rise above partisan politics.

Surjewala, however, evaded a direct reply when asked whether the party will approach court if denied the LoP post in Lok Sabha. "We will cross the bridge when we reach there," was his refrain to repeated questions on the issue.

The comment came after Modi government slammed Congress for targeting the Speaker over the LoP issue while saying such attacks reflected the "desperation" of the opposition party.

The Speaker is yet to take a decision on the issue.

Congress with 44 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha has emerged as the second largest party after BJP's 282 but fell short of 10% of the total number of seats (55) in the lower House to stake claim for the key position.

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