Go, move court on LoP issue, govt dares Congress

NEW DELHI: Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said there is no grey area on the issue of Leader of Opposition. He said the law is very clear on the issue for 60 years and if the Congress wants to go to court it is free to try that option.

"The decision will entirely be that of the Speaker, she has the sole jurisdiction on LoP. Congress is free to go to courts," the law minister said during an interaction with reporters at the Indian Women's Press Corps.

Prasad said between 1971 and 1977 there was no leader of Opposition and again between 1980 and 1989 there was no one appointed to this position. "In the last 60 years this has been the rule that you have to have 10% strength of the house to qualify for a LoP position," Prasad said, adding that any change in this well established rule has to be justified.

TOI had earlier reported that the 16th Lok Sabha will have no leader of the opposition as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is believed to have decided to strictly go by the rule book which will make no party eligible for the status in the Lower House.

As per rules, any party needs to bag at least 10% of the total seats for its leader to claim the status of the leader of the opposition. Though having the largest contingent among the opposition, Congress with 44 members falls short of the requirement.

Sources said the Speaker, a seasoned parliamentarian, has decided not to use any discretion to tweak the rulebook and stick to the letters of the law.

"As far as going to courts, Congress can go anywhere. It would be better if the party introspected how they got 44 seats, it would serve them better," Prasad said.

On the apex court judgment that sharia courts have no legal authority and if that gave the government reason to push its agenda on uniform civil code, the minister said it will come with a structured response on the issue in due course.

He said there are many judicial and legislative reforms on which the government has been proactive and has even asked the Law Commission to consult stakeholders and give its findings. He denied any conflict with the higher judiciary.

"The government has highest regard for the judiciary," he said, explaining how during the JP movement and the emergency, the entire leadership of the present government had fought for the independence of the judiciary and it will uphold this now.

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