Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, by the virtue of being the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, now will have an active opinion in the appointment process for key officials such as the CBI director, the Chief Election Commissioners (CEC), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson and the Chief Vigilance Commissioner.
Furthermore, as a Leader of the Opposition, Gandhi will also hold the rank of a cabinet minister and will be given an office and staff in the Parliament building.
The Gandhi scion on Wednesday took over as Leader of the Opposition in the lower House. The position has been occupied after a prolonged vacancy of 10 years as no Opposition party met the minimum strength criterion for the post.
54-year-old Rahul is the third member of the Gandhi family to become the Leader of the Opposition.
The similar designation was acquired by his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi between 1989-90 when the VP Singh government was in power.
Later, his mother and former UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi too occupied the post from 1999-2004 during the regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In Lok Sabha election 2024, Rahul Gandhi tasted victory in both Wayanad and Raebareli with a considerable margin. As per rules, he later vacated the Wayanad seat, and his sister and Congress colleague Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the bypoll that follows.
