Gandhi Takes Leader of Opposition Role in India’s Parliament
- Rahul Gandhi will have same ranking as cabinet minister
- Incumbent parliament speaker Birla reappointed to role
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India’s opposition is gearing up to play a bigger role in the parliament, naming Rahul Gandhi into a key position and fielding its own candidate for speaker of the house in a rare contest for the post.
Gandhi was selected leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, his party said Tuesday, a post that’s been vacant in the first decade of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule. The opposition put up its own candidate for the speaker post, a largely symbolic move that was defeated Wednesday by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies, who elected the incumbent Om Birla to the role.