When India is getting a Leader of Opposition after 10 years; can Rahul Gandhi rise to the occasion?

The results of the 18th Lok Sabha elections have ensured a strong presence of the opposition in the House with 237 seats. For the first time after ten years, the Congress has got the Leader of the Opposition and the party has officially announced that Rahul Gandhi will take over as the Leader of the Opposition. Rahul has come to the position of leader of the opposition, which has been vacant for ten years. This is a clear opportunity for Rahul Gandhi to act upholding the highest values ​​of democracy and the Constitution. The ruling parties always try to create an impression that the opposition means a party that obstructs the proceedings of the assembly, be it in the Lok Sabha or the legislatures. The reality is that the opposition's adoption of a boycott of talks as the strongest form of protest has often undermined democracy.

Anti-democratic authoritarian tendencies seep into many laws when a way is paved for bills to be passed without debate. If the bills are clearly studied and defects are pointed out along with the reasons, the ruling party will realize the need to change the bills, even if there is a majority. This process is now almost extinct in the Houses of Representatives. More than the ruling party, the opposition should be blamed for this. What people expect from the opposition is their constructive interactions and discussions in the Houses. As the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi should try to bring about such a change. The opposition leader and the opposition parties should not take the approach of blindly opposing all the decisions of the ruling party. It is the duty of the opposition to welcome decisions that are favourable and beneficial to the people and to submit suggestions to make them more acceptable.

It can be assumed that Rahul Gandhi's long years of public service and familiarity with the people will help him successfully fulfill this duty. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi can be expected to demonstrate the leadership ability to forcefully oppose the policies of the government, both inside and outside the Lok Sabha, which creates divisions and splits in the society. This is the Lok Sabha where after ten years the BJP does not have a majority on their own. Mainly, the support of the Telugu Desam Party and JD(U) is necessary to maintain the rule. BJP is of the view that conducting Caste Census will lead to segregation of the people of the country on the basis of caste. However, Nitish Kumar's JDU is a party that demanded the implementation of caste census across the country and implemented it in Bihar. Congress is the party which has promised in its manifesto to conduct a caste census in the country.

DMK, one of the prominent constituents of the India Alliance, has also announced that it will conduct a caste census in Tamil Nadu. At this stage, Rahul Gandhi has got a golden opportunity to take the leadership position of agitations demanding a nationwide caste census and raise his voice for it as the leader of the opposition. If Rahul rises to the occasion and utilizes this opportunity with political maturity, the campaign of some that there is no other leader in India who can stand in place of Modi will be proven wrong. Rahul should use his position as the Leader of the Opposition to press for the correction of misguided economic policies and the introduction of policies to create more jobs. The two Bharat Jodo Yatras gave Rahul Gandhi a wide range of experience and an opportunity to know first-hand what the major problems of the people were. It can be assumed that Rahul Gandhi can shine as the leader of the opposition if he can maintain a direct relationship with the people beyond the framework of the advisory board.