Rahul Gandhi appointed parliamentary leader of opposition

By AFP
June 26, 2024
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi shows a copy of the Constitution of India while taking oath as a Member of the 18th Lok Sabha during its second day, at the Parliament, in New Delhi on June 25, 2024.— ANI
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi shows a copy of the Constitution of India while taking oath as a Member of the 18th Lok Sabha during its second day, at the Parliament, in New Delhi on June 25, 2024.— ANI 

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chief rival Rahul Gandhi was appointed Tuesday to lead India’s opposition in parliament, a key post that has been vacant for a decade.

Congress party general secretary K. C. Venugopal said Gandhi would be “a bold voice for the common people of India” and ensure the government “is held firmly accountable at all times”, he told reporters in a statement.

Venugopal said Congress party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul’s mother, had written to the parliament temporary speaker informing him he “is appointed as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha”, India’s lower house.

Gandhi defied analysts’ expectations and exit polls to help his Congress party nearly double its parliamentary numbers, its best result since Modi swept to power in 2014.