"Rahul Gandhi appointed LoP in Lok Sabha to tackle BJP": CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 26 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his support for Rahul Gandhi stating that he has been appointed as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha to "tackle the BJP".
"I wanted Rahul Gandhi to be The leader of the opposition to tackle BJP. I also urged the same with Rahul Gandhi and in the working committee meeting. I congratulate him on becoming the LoP," Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday
Congress on Tuesday declared that Rahul Gandhi, party's MP from Raebareli will be Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha, ending the 10-year spell of no LoP in the Lower House since 2014.
"Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been appointed as the LoP in the Lok Sabha.." Venugopal said while addressing the media here in the national capital.
Notably, Lok Sabha did not have a Leader of the Opposition in the last 10 years because no political party, other than the ruling party, was able to secure the minimum Lok Sabha seats required to nominate a Leader of the Opposition.
Rahul Gandhi won from both Raebareli and Wayanad Lok Sabha constituencies in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. While Rahul Gandhi won with a margin of 364422 votes from Wayanad defeating Communist Party of India's Annie Raja, in Raebareli, he won with a margin of 390030 votes from Raebareli defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's Dinesh Pratap Singh.
However, after Rahul Gandhi announced that he would resign as an MP from Wayanad and keep the Raebareli constituency, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced Priyanka Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad last week.
If Priyanka Gandhi wins from Wayanad, three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family will be in Parliament - Sonia Gandhi in Rajya Sabha and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.
The leader of the largest opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of the total strength of the Lok Sabha is recognised as the leader of the Opposition.
He will be a member of crucial committees such as Public Accounts (Chairman), Public Undertakings, Estimates and several Joint Parliamentary Committees.
He is entitled to be a member of various selection committees responsible for appointing heads of statutory bodies like the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Information Commission, the CBI, the NHRC, and the Lokpal. (ANI)