The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s top decision making body, passed a unanimous resolution on Saturday, June 8, to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. In a press statement, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal said that all members of the CWC have opted for Rahul, and that the party believes him to be the best choice to lead a “better, strong, and vigilant” Opposition.
When asked if Rahul has accepted this proposal, Venugopal said, “Rahul Gandhi has heard the sentiments of the CWC and informed us that he will make a decision soon.”
The Leader of Opposition is the leader of the largest opposition party, who plays a crucial role in representing and voicing the concerns of the opposition, holding the government accountable and providing constructive criticism on legislative matters.
Rahul Gandhi won both from the Wayanad seat in Kerala and the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Referring to his Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Venugopal told the media that the CWC members have singularly chosen Rahul. “ThePaanchNyay-Pachees Guarantee programme which resonated so very powerfully in the election campaign was the outcome of Rahulji’s yatras in which he listened to the fears, concerns and aspirations of all people especially youth, women, farmers, workers, dalits, adivasis, OBCs and minorities,” Venugopal added.
The CWC meeting was held to review the party’s performance in the elections and discuss the next course of action. The Congress won 99 seats of the 328 it contested, considered the party’s best performance in decades. Meanwhile, the Congress-led INDIA bloc won 233 seats, and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance bagged 292 seats.