Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Appointed As Congress Lok Sabha Leader As Rahul Gandhi Remains Reluctant

New Delhi, June 18: Indian National Congress on Tuesday elected senior West Bengal leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha, after Congress failed to convince AICC President Rahul Gandhi to take up the post. After the meeting of Parliamentary Core Committee chaired by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and attended by former PM Manmohan Singh and Rahul, the five-time MP was elected to lead party in the lower house of Parliament. Sonia Gandhi Chairs Meeting to Discuss Strategy for Ongoing Parliament Monsoon Session 2019.

A letter has been written to the Lok Sabha, saying that Chowdhury would be the leader of the opposition and represent it at all important election committees. The senior leader has been representing Berhampore since 1999. During the UPA government from 2012 to 2014, Chowdhury was Minister of State (MoS) for Railways.  Monsoon Session of Parliament 2019: Remaining MPs to Take Oath Today, Sonia Gandhi to Chair Meeting with Congress MPs to Discuss Strategy.

"I have been given this responsibility (the leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha). I was asked to stand in the front. I said okay. I am a foot soldier and foot soldiers stand in front. So I will fight as a foot soldier, " Chowdhury said.

Tweet by ANI:

Meanwhile, Congress failed to get the post of Leader of Opposition for the second time as it didn't get the benchmark 10 per cent seats required to claim the post. The grand old party won only 51 seats in the parliamentary election. In today's meeting, Congress also discussed NDA's nominee Om Birla for the Speaker’s post and decided not to oppose his candidature.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2019 05:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).