Leader of the Opposition (India)
| Leader of the Opposition of India | |
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Emblem of India
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Incumbent
None (No opposition with more than 10% seats) (in Lok Sabha) Ghulam Nabi Azad (in Rajya Sabha) |
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| Website | www |
The Leader of the Opposition is the politician who leads the official opposition in either House of the Parliament of India.
While the position also existed in the former Central Legislative Assembly of British India, and holders of it there included Motilal Nehru, it received statutory recognition through the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 which defines the term "Leader of the Opposition" as that member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha who, for the time being, is the Leader of that House of the Party in Opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and recognised, as such, by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. However, in order to get formal recognition, the concerned party must have at least 10% of the total strength of the House (55 seats in the Lok Sabha). If any party fails to get 10% seats in opposition, the House will not have recognised leader of the opposition. A single party has to meet the 10% seat criteria, not an alliance.
This is the most accepted or most spoken rule of appointing this post but when we refer to "Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977" by which the post has got official and statutory status, the majority required is decided by the heads of the houses, that is speaker and chairman as the case maybe.Refer to definition of Leader of Opposition in the act.
The Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003, clause 4, provides for the leader of the largest opposition party to be inducted as a member of the selection committee in a scenario where the lower house of parliament does not have a recognised leader of the opposition.
The Lok Sabha had no recognised Leader of the Opposition until 1969 . The post was also vacant between 1980 and 1989.
In Rajya Sabha until 1969, there was no Leader of the Opposition in real sense of the term. Till then, the practice was to call the Leader of the party in Opposition having the largest number of the members as the Leader of the Opposition, without according him any formal recognition, status or privilege. The office of Leader of the Opposition was given official recognition through the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977. This Act defines the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, as a member of the Council of States who is, for the time being, the Leader in that House of the party in opposition to the Government constituting the greatest numerical strength and recognised as such by the Chairman of the Council of States. Thus, the Leader of the Opposition should satisfy three conditions, namely, (i) he should be a member of the House (ii) the Leader in Rajya Sabha of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and (iii) be recognised as such by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha.
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