After the Congress decides, it will need the consent of INDIA bloc allies, said Pawar.
Sharad Pawar. File Photo
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that the Congress will decide and appoint the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as it has the maximum seats among the INDIA bloc parties in the Lower House of Parliament, as reported by PTI.
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Sharad Pawar was speaking to reporters at Baramati in Maharashtra's Pune district.
While speaking about the appointment of the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sharad Pawar said, "Earlier, we had agreed that the position would go to the party with the highest seats. Today, the Congress has the maximum seats (among opposition parties) in the Lok Sabha, so they will decide who should hold the position," according to the PTI.
Pawar further said, "After the Congress decides, it will need the consent of our (INDIA) bloc."
Among the opposition INDIA bloc constituents, the Congress bagged the highest 99 seats.
When Sharad Pawar was asked if efforts would be made to have the Lok Sabha's deputy speaker from the opposition, Pawar told PTI that this "rule" was not followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his last government.
"A discussion will take place on that point, but I do not think any fruitful outcome will result from it," he said.
The BJP won 240 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats in the recently held polls and formed a government with its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
On the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) success in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, Pawar reportedly claimed people have lost confidence in PM Modi and that "Modi's guarantee" turned out to be fake.
As per the news agency report, Pawar said, "The people of the state came to the conclusion that the promises he made in the last five years were not kept."
The MVA, which comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP led by Sharad Pawar, bagged 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The ruling Mahayuti, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the NCP headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, got 17 seats.
(with inputs from PTI)
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