Home » News » Congress 'must' go to court if denied LoP status: Kamal Nath
Insisting that there is no rule, which says that a party cannot get LoP status unless it has 10 per cent of the total strength of the 543-member Lok Sabha, the former parliamentary affairs minister said in Delhi that while a Speaker is generally neutral when it comes to dealing with Parliamentary processes, it may be different in a contentious situation.
In Hyderabad, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said everyone must abide by the presiding officer's decision. "There was no Opposition Leader during Nehruji's regime. There was no Opposition Leader during Indira Gandhi's era. Opposition Leader was not there in Rajiv Gandhi's rule," Naidu contended.
Picking on the BJP, Nath said, "We know the Speaker is from the BJP... the Speaker is appointed by a political party... when it is a contentious situation... It (the decision on LoP) will be flavoured by the BJP and Modi," Nath told Karan Thapar on 'Nothing But the Truth' programme on Headlines Today.
He was replying to a question on why he was raising fingers on the intention of the government in this matter when the decision on the LoP will be taken by the Speaker.
While hastening to add that what he says "does not mean that she is acting on the behest of somebody", Nath insisted, "But there is always a flavour."
He also said that if the Speaker rules against the Congress on the LoP issue, it would be right and proper for the Congress to go to the court. "Certainly, we must. It should be one of the options," he said.
At the same time he said that the Congress won't retaliate or be obstructive in Parliament simply because the LoP status is denied to it as party President Sonia Gandhi won't like it.
Tossing the ball in the Speaker's court, Naidu said, "It is people's verdict and matter related
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