The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ) is an elected Member of Rajya Sabha who leads the

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

in the Upper House of the Parliament of India. The

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the Rajya Sabha is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

History

In the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

until 1969, the title of opposition leader only existed de facto and had no formal recognition, status or privilege. Later, the leader of the opposition was given official recognition and their salary and allowances was extended by the Act, 1977. Since then, the leader in the Rajya Sabha should satisfy three conditions, namely, # he should be a member of the House # of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and # be recognised by the

Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...

In December 1969, the Congress Party (O) was recognised as the main opposition party in the parliament while its leader, Shyam Nandan Mishra plays the role of opposition leader. M. S. Gurupadaswamy was later elected the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha after

Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra Shyam Lal Mishra (20 October 1920 – 25 October 2004) was an indo nepalian politician, writer and Co. Founder of Nepal sadvawna party along with his brother Mr.Rajgiri Mishra who was also a reputed mentor politician of sunsari.He was born at ...

completed his tenure. However, Gurupadaswamy's appointment was declared with no formal announcement.

Role and Responsibilities

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) looks at government policies formulated for the rights of minorities and demands debate and criticises the government if ruling party tries to avoid debates on such policy. LoP also debates on the country's foreign relations and trade when it poses security threats on the national security.

Privileges and salary

Opposition leaders plays a significant role in government policies and their implementation by the ruling party. Sometimes, opposition leaders questions government about the country's national security and development. After the

constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

created a separate law on 1 November 1977 for opposition leaders, the salary was extended.Salary and other suitable facilities are extended to them through a separate legislation brought into force on 1 November 1977

List of leaders of the opposition in Rajya Sabha

Following members have been the leaders of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

History

Role and Responsibilities

Privileges and salary

List of leaders of the opposition in Rajya Sabha

See also

References

Further reading