Ordinances should be brought only if necessary: Speaker

Ordinances to implement government policies should be brought "only if necessary" and in the "rarest of cases", Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said Sunday.

"It should not be the case that ordinance after ordinance is promulgated. There are some issues on which instant decisions need to be taken. There is a difference between the two (approaches)," she said.

"Even after passing the ordinance, it still needs to be brought to parliament for approval and after the due period of time, it becomes law. Ordinances should be brought in the rarest of cases and only if necessary," Mahajan said.

The new government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was criticised for promulgating a couple of ordinances after taking charge.

While one of them was promulgated to merge parts of Telangana with Andhra Pradesh, the other was to appoint former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief Nripendra Mishra as the principal secretary to the prime minister, overriding the legal impediment.

On the issue of appointing Leader of Opposition, Mahajan said she will "have to consult" legal experts to reach a decision as "different opinions" are being expressed.

"The role of the opposition is important in parliament. We will have to think of what to do regarding the Leader of Opposition. There should be one. I will have to follow the rules (on the issue)," she said.

The Congress, which has the most seats (44) after the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha, falls short by 11 members in order to be accorded the status of the main opposition, which would have guaranteed Leader of Opposition from the party.