Leader Of Opposition (lop)
Historically, the first officially designated Opposition party in Parliament emerged from the breakup of the all-dominant Congress party in power. In 1969, when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, the Congress split to form the Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) and the Indian National Congress (Organization). The Leader of INC (O), Ram Subhag Singh, became the first person to be formally recognized as LoP in the Lok Sabha.
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There is no provision in the Constitution or even in the Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure in regard to the recognition of the LoP.
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The office of Leader of the Opposition was given official recognition through the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977.
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As per the Act, “Leader of the Opposition”, in relation to either House of Parliament, means that member of the Council of States or the House of the People, as the case may be, who is, for the time being, the Leader in that House of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and recognized as such by the Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be.
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The Speaker’s decisions in this regard have so far been determined by Direction 121(c) in Parliament (Facilities) Act 1998 which laid down one of the conditions for recognition of party or group as having “at least strength equal to the quorum fixed to constitute a sitting of the House that is one-tenth of the total number of members of the House”. The Leaders and Chief Whips of Recognized Parties and Groups in Parliament (Facilities) Act, 1998 also refers to a recognized party in the Lok Sabha as a party that has not less than 55 members.
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Since there is no constitutional provision, the 1977 law does not provide for the requirement of 55 members as an essential pre-requisite.