New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and MP from Rae Bareli Rahul Gandhi, who was formally recognised as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, said as LoP, he will raise people's issues in the lower house and ensure that any attack against the constitution is resisted with 'full force'.
"Someone asked what LoP means to me. LoP is your voice, it is your tool. Whatever feeling you have in your heart and whatever issues you face, I, as LoP, will raise those in the Lok Sabha. To the poor, Dalits, tribals, those belonging to backward classes, the minorities, labourers, farmers -- I am yours," Rahul said in a video message he posted on X, in which he also thanked people, the INDIA bloc constituents and the leaders and workers of his party.
The Congress leader said he will protect the constitution with full force whenever the NDA government attempts to undermine it.
"The Constitution protects you. If the government attempts to attack or suppress it, we will protect it will full force. I am yours (Main aap ka hun), I will raise your voice in the Parliament," he said.
देश की जनता, कांग्रेस के कार्यकर्ताओं और INDIA के सहयोगियों का मुझपर भरोसा जताने के लिए दिल से धन्यवाद।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 26, 2024
विपक्ष का नेता सिर्फ एक पद नहीं है - यह आपकी आवाज़ बन कर आपके हितों और अधिकारों की लड़ाई लड़ने की बहुत बड़ी जिम्मेदारी है।
हमारा संविधान गरीबों, वंचितों, अल्पसंख्यकों,… pic.twitter.com/X6n9gIpr8B
Earlier in the day, Rahul congratulating Om Birla for being elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha for a second term and hoped the opposition leaders would be allowed to raise the "voice of people" in the House and suspension of MPs will not be done again. Gandhi also countered the government over claims of high productivity of the Lok Sabha and said the question is not how efficiently the House is run, but how much of India's voice is being allowed to be heard.
While the opposition pushed a contest for the post of Speaker by pitching K Suresh against Birla, who was announced elected by a voice vote, Gandhi went and congratulated Birla on the floor of the House. In a democratic spirit and amid clapping from both sides, Gandhi also escorted Birla, soon after he was re-elected as the new Speaker, to the Chair along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. He also greeted him and wished him for his new innings.
Gandhi said the opposition wanted the House to function "often and well" and added that it was very important that cooperation happens on the basis of trust. Gandhi, who is usually seen wearing a white T-shirt and trousers, was clad in white kurta-pyjama on his first day as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.
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