Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha

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Leader of the Opposition in
Rajya Sabha
Rājya Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā
Emblem of India.svg
Emblem of India
The Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge (cropped).jpg
since 16 February 2021
Residence New Delhi
AppointerWhile parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in government
Term length 5 years
Inaugural holder Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra (1969–1971)
Deputy Pramod Tiwari, INC
(13 March 2023-Incumbent)
Salary330,000 (US$4,000)
(excl. allowances) per month
Website rajyasabha.nic.in

The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha (IAST: Rājya Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā) is an elected Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha who leads the official opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament of India. The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in government.

Contents

The office holder ranks 7th in the Order of Precedence of India.

History

In the Rajya Sabha 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,

  1. he should be a member of the House
  2. of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and
  3. be recognised by the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha

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 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. [1] [2]

Privileges and salary

Opposition leaders play a significant role in government policies and their implementation by the ruling party. Sometimes, opposition leaders question government about the country's national security and development. [3] After the constitution of India created a separate law on 1 November 1977 for opposition leaders, the salary was extended. [4]

List of leaders of the opposition in Rajya Sabha

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

No.PortraitName
(born died)
Constituency
Term of officePolitical partyGovernmentLeader of House Chairman
(Tenure)
No official opposition (13 May 1952 17 December 1969)
1 Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra portrait.gif Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra
(1920–2004)
MP for Bihar
18 December
1969
11 March
1971
1 year, 83 days Indian National Congress (O) Indira II Kodardas Kalidas Shah Gopal Swarup Pathak
(1969–1974)
2 M. S. Gurupadaswamy image.jpg M. S. Gurupadaswamy
(1924–2011)
MP for Uttar Pradesh
24 March
1971
2 April
1972
1 year, 9 days Indira III Uma Shankar Dikshit
No official opposition (2 April 1972 30 March 1977)
3 Kamalapati Tripathi
(1905–1990)
MP for Uttar Pradesh
30 March
1977
15 February
1978
322 days Indian National Congress (R) Desai L. K. Advani B. D. Jatti
(1974–1979)
4 Bhola Pawan Shastri portrait.jpg Bhola Paswan Shastri
(1914–1990)
MP for Bihar
24 February
1978
23 March
1978
27 days
(3) Kamalapati Tripathi
(1905–1990)
MP for Uttar Pradesh
23 March
1978
8 January
1980
1 year, 291 days
Indian National Congress (Urs) Charan K. C. Pant Mohammad Hidayatullah
(1979–1984)
5 Lkadvani.jpg L. K. Advani
(born 1927)
MP for Gujarat
21 January
1980
7 April
1980
77 days Janata Party Indira III Pranab Mukherjee
No official opposition (7 April 1980 18 December 1989)
6 P. Shiv Shankar (cropped).jpg P. Shiv Shankar
(1929–2017)
MP for Gujarat
18 December
1989
2 January
1991
1 year, 15 days Indian National Congress (I) Vishwanath M. S. Gurupadaswamy Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1987–1992)
Chandra Shekhar Yashwant Sinha
(2) M. S. Gurupadaswamy image.jpg M. S. Gurupadaswamy
(1924–2011)
MP for Karnataka
28 June
1991
21 July
1991
23 days Janata Dal Rao Vacant
7 Jaipal Sudini Reddy - Kolkata 2004-11-10 03212 Cropped.jpg S. Jaipal Reddy
(1942–2019)
MP for Andhra Pradesh
22 July
1991
29 June
1992
343 days Shankarrao Chavan
8 Sikander Bakht
(1918–2004)
MP for Madhya Pradesh
7 July
1992
16 May
1996
3 years, 314 days Bharatiya Janata Party
K. R. Narayanan
(1992–1997)
9 Shankarrao Chavan 2007 stamp of India (cropped).jpg Shankarrao Chavan
(1920–2004)
MP for Maharashtra
23 May
1996
1 June
1996
9 days Indian National Congress Vajpayee I Sikander Bakht
(8) Sikander Bakht
(1918–2004)
MP for Madhya Pradesh
1 June
1996
19 March
1998
1 year, 291 days Bharatiya Janata Party Deve Gowda Inder Kumar Gujral
H. D. Deve Gowda
Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral
Krishan Kant
(1997–2002)
10 Official Portrait of the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.jpg Manmohan Singh
(born 1932)
MP for Assam
19 March
1998
22 May
2004
6 years, 64 days Indian National Congress Vajpayee II Sikander Bakht
Vajpayee III Jaswant Singh
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
(2002–2007)
11 Jaswant Singh (cropped).jpg Jaswant Singh
(1938–2020)
MP for Rajasthan
3 June
2004
16 May
2009
4 years, 347 days Bharatiya Janata Party Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
Mohammad Hamid Ansari
(2007–2017)
12 The official photograph of the Defence Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley (cropped).jpg Arun Jaitley
(1952–2019)
MP for Gujarat
3 June
2009
26 May
2014
4 years, 357 days Manmohan II
13 Ghulam Nabi Azad at Healthcare Skill Summit 2013 (cropped).jpg Ghulam Nabi Azad
(born 1949)
MP for Jammu and Kashmir
8 June
2014
10 February
2015
6 years, 252 days Indian National Congress Modi I Arun Jaitley
23 February
2015
15 February
2021
M. Venkaiah Naidu
(2017–2022)
Modi II Thawar Chand Gehlot
14 Mallikarjun Kharge briefing the media after presenting the Interim Railway Budget 2014-15 in New Delhi (cropped).jpg Mallikarjun Kharge
(born 1942)
MP for Karnataka
16 February
2021
Incumbent3 years, 284 days
Piyush Goyal
Jagdeep Dhankhar
(2022–present)
Modi III J. P. Nadda

Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha (IAST: Rājya Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Upar Netā) is an elected Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha who serves the deputy to opposition leader in the Upper House of the Parliament of India.

No.PortraitName
(born died)
Constituency
Term of officePolitical partyLeader of Opposition
1 SS Ahluwalia, BJP.jpg S. S. Ahluwalia
(born 1951)
MP for Jharkhand
3 June
2009
2 April
2012
2 years, 304 days Bharatiya Janata Party Arun Jaitley
2 Ravi Shankar Prasad At Office.jpg Ravi Shankar Prasad
(born 1954)
MP for Bihar
20 July
2012
26 May
2014
1 year, 310 days
3 Anand Sharma - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012.jpg Anand Sharma
(born 1953)
MP for Himachal Pradesh
8 June
2014
2 April
2022
7 years, 298 days Indian National Congress Ghulam Nabi Azad
Mallikarjun Kharge
Interim Palaniappan Chidambaram - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011 (cropped).jpg P. Chidambaram
(born 1945)
MP for Maharashtra (till Jun'22)
MP for Tamil Nadu (from Jun'22)
3 April
2022
13 March
2023
344 days
4 Pramod Tiwari at Parliament Library Building, New Delhi.jpg Pramod Tiwari
(born 1952)
MP for Rajasthan
13 March
2023
Incumbent1 year, 258 days

See also

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References

  1. "Leader of Opposition: His role and responsibilities – India News". Latest News India. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  2. "Rajya Sabha – Role of The Leader of The House, Leader of the Opposition and Whips Brief History". rajyasabha.nic.in.
  3. Kumar, Sanjay. "Why India Needs an Opposition Leader". thediplomat.com.
  4. Salary and other suitable facilities are extended to them through a separate legislation brought into force on 1 November 1977

Further reading