Amid trading of barbs between main
opposition Congress and the government over the post of Leader of
Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Sumitra Mahahan today said a strong
opposition was more important than LoP. On ruling through ordinances,
she said it would be better if they were lesser in number. "What is the
meaning of Leader of the Opposition. Instead of LoP, a strong
opposition is more important. A strong opposition is one which raises
its issues effectively. It is not necessary that a strong opposition has
a leader," she said. Mahajan was addressing mediapersons at the end of
the 77th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies here.
The Speaker's comments came against the backdrop of Congress having only
44 members in the Lok Sabha. Though it is the second largest party
after BJP (282 members), it still falls short of the 55 members — 10 per
cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha — needed for staking claim
to the post. Mahajan has earlier cited precedents of 1980 and 1984,
when there was no recognised Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. The
Congress happened to be in power then.
Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar attracted opposition BJP's ire today in Rajya Sabha when he said he was not interested in listening to speech of a BJP member on vote on account, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House amid uproar. During the Zero Hour, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien allowed Aiyar, who wanted to ask a question, to do so, which was opposed by BJP members. Kurien asked Aiyar whether he yielded to allow others to speak, to which he said he had no objection and he can ask his question later. As the House got ready to initiate discussion on Vote on Account, Kurien said, "Let us reduce the discussion to two hours from four hours," which was opposed by BJP members including Piyush Goyal who was given a chance to speak on Vote on Account. When it was agreed that discussion will take place as per schedule, Aiyar remarked he was not interested in listening to the speech by BJP member. "You had given me the chance to ask a question
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