Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi
The absence of a recognised Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha will not invalidate appointments in various statutory bodies including Lokpal and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) among others, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said.
The Attorney General (AG), in his opinion to Lok Sabha on the issue of LoP, has also said that the power to recognise a parliamentary party or group for functioning in the House is solely that of the Speaker.
The LoP is a member of selection committees to choose the chief and members of Lokpal, CVC, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Central Information Commission (CIC) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The AG's opinion was sought by the Lok Sabha secretariat after UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan seeking LoP post for Congress nominee.
All the four Acts -- the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the CVC Act, 2003, RTI Act, 2005 and the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 -- provide that the selection "shall not be rendered invalid under any of the Acts merely on account of a vacancy of any member in the committees," the AG said.
It is clear that in at least two of the four Acts (CVC and RTI), Parliament has clearly stated its intention ie that there may be a situation where no LoP is recognised in Lok Sabha by the Speaker.
"As far as the other two Acts are concerned, it is obvious that the vacancy in the selection committee regarding Leader of Opposition, who will not be present in the committee because of lack of appointment as such, will be treated as a casual vacancy i.e. akin to a member of the selection committee not being able to attend the meeting," Mr Rohatgi said in the letter copy which was received in response to an RTI query filed by PTI.
The four Acts have nothing to do with the actual recognition of a member of the House as Leader of Opposition whose recognition vests solely in the discretion of the Speaker, the AG has said.