Kharge to be Leader of Opposition in RS

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge will be the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, succeeding Ghulam Nabi Azad whose tenure comes to an end on Monday.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has written to Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu for appointing Kharge to the post as Azad is retiring.

Kharge, a Dalit leader from Karnataka, was the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019. The grand old party could not get the leader of opposition’s post in the previous and the current Lok Sabha as its numbers were less than the mandated 10% of the total number of seats in the Lower House. Kharge will be the 17th Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha since December, 1969.