Genesis
Before 1969,
there was no Leader of the Opposition in both the Houses in the real sense of
the term. However, after 1977 leaders of the opposition have been accorded
statutory recognition by The Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition
in Parliament Act, 1977.
As I stated in
the last post that who is to be the leader of the opposition is to be decided
by the combined reading of the abovementioned act and the directions by the
Presiding officer. Such a reading would ensue that a leader of the opposition
could be from the party which has the greatest numerical strength of not less
than one-tenth of the total membership of the house.
The directions
by the Presiding Officers of both the houses in this respect are passed under
Rule 389 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha[1] and Rule 266 of the Rules
of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha[2].
Here are the
directions that were passed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in 1980.
Recognition
of Party or Group
The Chairman may
recognise an association of Members as a Parliamentary Party or a Parliamentary
Group for the purpose of functioning in the Council and his decision in the
matter shall be final.
Conditions
for Recognition
In recognising a
Parliamentary Party or a Parliamentary Group the Chairman shall
take into consideration the following principles:-
(i)
An association of Members who propose to form a Parliamentary Party :-
(a)
shall have a distinct ideology and a common programme of Parliamentary work on
which they have been elected to the Council;
(b)
shall have an organisation both inside and outside the Council; and
(c) shall
have at least a strength equal to the quorum fixed to constitute a sitting of
the Council, that is, one tenth of the total number of Members of the Council.
(ii)
An association of Members to form a Parliamentary Group shall satisfy the
conditions specified in parts (a) and (b) of clause (i) and shall have at least
a strength of 15 Members.
Although till
1980, there was no Direction issued by the Chairman for recognition of a
political party, for all practical purposes the principles embodied in the
above Directions were being followed in the Rajya Sabha. For instance, even
though there were "Parties" in opposition right from the inception of
the Rajya Sabha, they were recognised as "Groups" and not
"Parties" as their strength was less than the quorum of the House[4].
Thus, I hope
that the difference between a Parliamentary Group and a Parliamentary
Party is clear. Members of different political parties can come together to
form a Parliamentary Group. However, for being recognized as a Parliamentary
Party that could put forth a Leader of the Opposition, the members
of such a Parliamentary Party must belong to the same Political Party.
This is because section 2 of the Leaders of Opposition Act, 1977 clearly states
that “member of the House of the People who is the Leader in that House of
the party in opposition to the Government”. Section 2 clearly refers
to a Political Party and not a Parliamentary Party as the general meaning of ‘party’
in the context of elections is Political Party. Hence, a combined reading of
Section 2 and the abovementioned direction would suggest that such a
Parliamentary Party (Chief Opposition) must have members of the same Political Party.
In certain
cases, even where the membership of an association of members is less than
fifteen, it may be given the nomenclature of a Group, under the orders of the
Chairman, for the limited purpose of functioning in the House, without
according it a formal recognition as such. The general practice is that a group
which has a strength of five and more is recognised as a parliamentary group
for functioning in the House. Members belonging to different political parties and
unattached members who form an association with distinctive designation may
also be termed as a parliamentary group for the purpose of functioning in the
House, namely, allocation of time for participation in debates and allotment of
contiguous seats in the Chamber[5].
To be Continued....
[1] Lok
Sabha – RESIDUARY POWERS – Rule389 – All matters not specifically provided
for in these rules and all questions relating to the detailed working of these
rules shall be regulated in such manner as the Speaker may, from time to time,
direct.
[2] Rajya
Sabha – RESIDUARY POWERS – Rule 266 – All matters not specifically provided
for in these rules and all questions relating to the detailed working of these
rules shall be regulated in such manner as the Chairman may, from time to time
direct.
[3] R.S.
Bulletin, Part-II, dated 7.6.1980.
[4] Chapter
10, Political Complexion of Rajya Sabha, Rajya Sabha at Work.
[5]
Ibid.
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