SC right to question Govt. on LoP issue: Sharad Yadav

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) President Sharad Yadav today said that the Supreme Court is right to question the government on the Leader of Opposition (LoP) issue, as the position plays an extremely important role in affairs of the country.

"The Supreme Court has rightly held this as the Leader of opposition is the need of our country. LoP has an important role to play as far as appointments and other important issues are concerned. It is a fact and cannot be ignored," said Yadav.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not like dissent from the opposition.

"I think the order of the Supreme Court is very democratic. There is a need for an opposition in the country but Prime Minister Modi just doesn't like dissent from the Opposition," said Sisodia.

The Supreme Court has asked the NDA Government at the Centre to explain why there is no Leader of Opposition in Parliament, and gave the former a month's time to come up with an answer on how it proposes to select Lokpal members, if such a post remains vacant or does not exist.

The committee to select the nine members of the Lokpal is meant to include the Leader of the Opposition along with the Prime Minister and others. The apex court pointed out that the make-up of the committee is part of the law passed by Parliament that brings the Lokpal into existence.

The Congress had claimed that as the single largest opposition party, its floor leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, should be recognized as Leader of the Opposition. But Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ruled that out, citing rules that a party must have at least 55 members in the House to claim the post. The Congress has 44.