IS IT OBLIGATORY FOR A PARTY TO SECURE AT LEAST 10% SEATS (I.E. 53) IN LOK SABHA TO SEEK THE POST OF LOP
The salary and allowances of leaders of
opposition in Parliament Act, 1977: Section
2 reads thus "Leader of the Opposition", in relation to either House of Parliament, means that member
of the Council of States or the House of the People, as the case may be, who
is, for the time being, the Leader in that House of the party In opposition to
the Government having the greatest numerical strength and recognised as such by
the Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the
People, as the case may be.
Note 1:- Nowhere any of the provisions of said Act stipulates the purported condition of 10% of the total strength (Elected MPs i.e. 543/10 = 54) of the concerned House i.e. minimum 54 MPs as being talked about. 10% is the minimum quorum required to convene the sitting of the House.
THUS, IMHO, THE CONGRESS PARTY BEING THE PARTY HAVING THE GREATEST NUMERICAL STRENGTH (52 MPs) MAY TAKE AWAY THE TROPHY.
Note 1:- Nowhere any of the provisions of said Act stipulates the purported condition of 10% of the total strength (Elected MPs i.e. 543/10 = 54) of the concerned House i.e. minimum 54 MPs as being talked about. 10% is the minimum quorum required to convene the sitting of the House.
THUS, IMHO, THE CONGRESS PARTY BEING THE PARTY HAVING THE GREATEST NUMERICAL STRENGTH (52 MPs) MAY TAKE AWAY THE TROPHY.
Note 2: In NCTD, there is similarly worded LAW namely LEADER OF OPPOSITION IN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NCTD (SALARY AND ALLOWANCE) ACT, 2001. In Legislative Assembly election in 2015 in NCTD the BJP had secured 3/70 seats (well below the purported condition of 10%). However, the Hon'ble Speaker had recognized Sh. Vijender Gupta, BJP MLA, who was the Leader of House of the BJP Party in opposition to the government having the greatest numerical strength, as LOP in the Legislative Assembly of NCTD U/S 2 of the said Act of 2001.