SC rules out Opposition Leader status for Sonia

Even after losing absolute power in the 2014 elections, the Congress believes it has the power by right and blocks all new laws sought to be made by lawmakers such as the Goods and Services Tax Bill. The Congress was in for adversity, however, on Monday, when the Supreme Court told the party that its leader could not enjoy the status of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha because the party had got only 44 seats in the House. The Constitution requires a minimum 10% seats in the opposition to earn the status of the Leader of the Opposition by a party. Such leader ex officio enjoys the status of a Cabinet Minister as well. The Congress has neither, which is largely the outcome of steamrolling the combined AP split in the last House. The message was already conveyed to the Congress leadership by the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and the Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi. But the Congress wouldn't listen and went to the Supreme Court instead. The Supreme Court made the constitutional position clear to the Congress. The Congress could explore the possibility of helping pass its own Bills, which the party was now blocking such as the Goods and Services Tax Bill and the Special Status for AP, for a change of heart all round.