The members of the Congress Working Committee on Saturday unanimously urged Rahul Gandhi to assume the position of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. They also acknowledged his two Bharat Jodo Yatras for the party's performance in the general elections.
Following a meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC), party general secretary KC Venugopal stated that CWC members unanimously requested Gandhi to accept the Leader of Opposition role.
"Rahul Gandhi said he would take a decision on it very soon," Venugopal said.
Congress Leaders React
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari said, "Definitely he (Rahul Gandhi) should become (LoP in Lok Sabha). This was the request of our working committee. He is fearless and courageous..."
Congress MP Kumari Selja said, "It was the CWC's wish that Rahul Gandhi be elected the LoP..."
Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole says, "The entire CWC demands that Rahul Gandhi be elected as the LoP and become the voice of the country..."
Congress leader Ajay Rai said, "It was the CWC's wish that Rahul Gandhi be made the LoP and be the voice of the common man and raise their issues in the Parliament... We are working on why we got fewer seats in some states. Their claim of 'Congress mukt' has failed and the country has now become 'Congress yukt' again."
Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, "We all have appealed to Rahul Gandhi to become the LoP. He is the only person who can face the Prime Minister. And when Rahul Gandhi will stand up, the youth of the country will feel safe... We never wanted an alliance with the AAP in Punjab. Our decision was correct..."
Karnataka DCM DK Shivakumar informed that Congress President will announce the final name. He said, "All Chief Minister and leaders have moved a resolution for LoP and the entire party has stood on the issue. The Congress President will announce the LoP."
Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh said, "We thanked Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge for their efforts, the result of which we are seeing today. Everyone has urged Rahul Gandhi to accept the post of LoP in the Lok Sabha."
Other party leaders including Ramesh Chennithala, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, MP Deepender Hooda and Gaurav Gogoi have also echoed their wish for Gandhi to take the role.
This will be the first time that the Congress, since its ouster from power in 2014, will get the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. It failed to get the position in the past 10 years as its tally was below the requisite 10 per cent of total seats in the House, both in 2014 and 2019.
The Congress has emerged as the second-largest party in the Lok Sabha, improving its tally to 99 from 52 in the 2019 elections.
Venugopal also said the party's leaders and workers are charged up and asserted that the CWC sentiment is that the Congress' revival has begun.
The CWC adopted two resolutions, one hailing the role of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
It also credited the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatras for its good performance.
The CWC resolution also said the people's verdict was not just a political loss but a personal and moral defeat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had sought a mandate in his name.
