No Leader of Opposition? Please Explain, Says Supreme Court to Centre

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today told the government that it is concerned about the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha remaining vacant. Judges said the position "conveys a voice different from the government's" and is therefore crucial. The Centre has been given four weeks to furnish its response.

Government sources asserted that the Speaker and Parliament "have sole discretion" on determining the Leader of the Opposition. "We have no say whatsoever," sources told NDTV.

The Congress had claimed that as the single-largest opposition party, its floor leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, should be recognized as Leader of the Opposition. But Speaker Sumitra Mahajan rejected it, citing rules that a party must have at least 55 members in the House to claim the post. The Congress has 44. (Declined. Speaker Rejects Congress Claim for Leader of Opposition)

"Opposition is the essence of democracy, and if the government is choosing to ignore the position of Leader of Opposition, it is an assault on democracy. It is incumbent upon the government to reply to the court," Congress leader Manish Tewari said.

The judges commented while hearing Aam Aadmi Party leader Prashant Bhushan's petition asking the government to explain the delay in appointing the nine members of the national anti-graft ombudsman or Lokpal, which has been birthed by a law passed by Parliament in December. (Historic Lokpal Bill passed in Lok Sabha, Anna Hazare ends fast)

The judges pointed out that by law, the committee that selects the Lokpal's members must include the Leader of the Opposition along with the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India.  The government is likely to tell the court that the Lokpal law allows a decision even when there is a "vacancy" in the selection panel.

The law that creates the Lokpal was passed by Parliament in December, after two years of stalling. The need for an ombudsman empowered to investigate corrupt government officials was championed by activist Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal in 2012 in a high-profile movement which caught the imagination of middle class India.  Mr Kejriwal now heads the AAP.