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{{EngvarB|date=May 2022}}
{{Short description|Elected member who leads the official opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament of India}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox Political post
| post = Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha
| native_name = {{lang|hi-Latn|Rājya Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā}}
| insignia = Emblem_of_India.svg
| insigniasize = 50px
| insigniacaption = Emblem of India
| image = File:Shri Mallikarjun Kharge takes over the charge of Union Minister for Railways, in New Delhi on June 19, 2013 (cropped).jpg
| incumbent = [[Mallikarjun Kharge]]
| incumbentsince = 16 February 2021
| style =
| imagesize =
| termlength = 5 years
| appointer = While parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in government
| residence = New Delhi
| formation =
| succession =
| salary = {{INRConvert|330000}} (excl. allowances) per month
| inaugural = [[Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra]] {{small|(1969–1971)}}
| website = {{url|http://rajyasabha.nic.in}}
}}
The '''Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha''' ([[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|IAST]]: {{lang|hi-Latn|Rājya Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā}}) is an elected [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha|Member of Rajya Sabha]] who leads the [[Official Opposition (India)|official opposition]] in the Upper House of the Parliament of India. The [[Leader of the Opposition]] in the Rajya Sabha is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in [[Government of India|government]].

==History==
In the [[Rajya Sabha]] until 1969, the title of opposition leader only existed de facto and had no formal recognition, status or privilege. Later, the leader of the opposition was given official recognition and their salary and allowances was extended by the Act, 1977. Since then, the leader in the Rajya Sabha should satisfy three conditions, namely,

# he should be a member of the House
# of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and
# be recognised by the [[Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha]]

In December 1969, the Congress Party (O) was recognised as the main opposition party in the parliament while its leader, Shyam Nandan Mishra plays the role of opposition leader. [[M. S. Gurupadaswamy]] was later elected the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha after [[Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra]] completed his tenure. However, Gurupadaswamy's appointment was declared with no formal announcement.

==Role and Responsibilities==
{{Further|Official Opposition (India)}}
The Leader of Opposition (LoP) looks at government policies formulated for the rights of minorities and demands debate and criticises the government if ruling party tries to avoid debates on such policy. LoP also debates on the country's foreign relations and trade when it poses security threats on the national security.<ref name="Latest News India 2019">{{cite web | title=Leader of Opposition: His role and responsibilities – India News | website=Latest News India | date=17 June 2019 | url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/leader-of-opposition-what-are-his-role-and-responsibilities/438466 | access-date=27 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/practice_procedure/oppo.asp#LE1|title=Rajya Sabha – Role of The Leader of The House, Leader of the Opposition and Whips Brief History|website=rajyasabha.nic.in}}</ref>

==Privileges and salary==
Opposition leaders plays a significant role in government policies and their implementation by the ruling party. Sometimes, opposition leaders questions government about the country's national security and development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/08/why-india-needs-an-opposition-leader/|title=Why India Needs an Opposition Leader|first=Sanjay|last=Kumar|website=thediplomat.com}}</ref> After the [[constitution of India]] created a separate law on 1 November 1977 for opposition leaders, the salary was extended.<ref>Salary and other suitable facilities are extended to them through a separate legislation brought into force on 1 November 1977</ref>

==List of Leaders of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha==
Following members have been the Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! No.
! Portrait
! Name
! colspan="3" |Term<ref>{{Cite web |title=FORMER OPPOSITION LEADERS OF THE HOUSE – RAJYA SABHA |url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rajya_sabha/Formeropposition.aspx |access-date= |website=rajyasabha.nic.in}}</ref>
![[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]
! colspan="2"|Party
|-
| –
|
|''Vacant''
| 13 May 1952
| 17 December 1969
|{{Ayd|13 May 1952|17 December 1969}}
|
| No Official Opposition
|
|-
| 1
|
| [[Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra]]
| 18 December 1969
| 11 March 1971
|{{Ayd|18 December 1969|11 March 1971}}
| rowspan="3" |[[Indira Gandhi]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Indian National Congress (O)]]
| rowspan="2"; bgcolor={{party color|Indian National Congress (Organisation)}}|
|-
| 2
|[[File:No image available.svg|75x75px]]
| [[M. S. Gurupadaswamy]]
| 24 March 1971
| 2 April 1972
|{{Ayd|24 March 1971|2 April 1972}}
|-
| –
|
|''Vacant''
|2 April 1972
|30 March 1977
|{{Ayd|2 April 1972|30 March 1977}}
|No Official Opposition
|
|-
| 3
|[[File:No image available.svg|75x75px]]
| [[Kamalapati Tripathi]]
| 30 March 1977
| 15 February 1978
|{{Ayd|30 March 1977|15 February 1978}}
| rowspan="2" |[[Morarji Desai]]
| rowspan="3" | [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |
|-
| 4
|[[File:No image available.svg|75x75px]]
| [[Bhola Paswan Shastri]]
| 24 February 1978
| 23 March 1978
|{{Ayd|24 February 1978|23 March 1978}}
|-
|(3)
|[[File:No image available.svg|75x75px]]
|[[Kamalapati Tripathi]]
| 23 March 1978
| 8 January 1980
|{{Ayd|23 March 1978|8 January 1980}}
|[[Morarji Desai]] [[Charan Singh]]
|-
| 5
| [[File:Lkadvani.jpg|100x100px]]
| [[L. K. Advani]]
| 21 January 1980
| 7 April 1980
|{{Ayd|21 January 1980|7 April 1980}}
|[[Indira Gandhi]]
| [[Janata Party]]
| bgcolor={{party color|Janata Party}}|
|-
| –
|
|''Vacant''
|7 April 1980
|18 December 1989
|{{Ayd|7 April 1980|18 December 1989}}
|[[Indira Gandhi]] [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
|No Official Opposition
|
|-
| 6
|
| [[P. Shiv Shankar]]
| 18 December 1989
| 2 January 1991
|{{Ayd|18 December 1989|2 January 1991}}
|[[VP Singh]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |
|-
| (2)
|[[File:No image available.svg|75x75px]]
| [[M. S. Gurupadaswamy]]
| 28 June 1991
| 21 July 1991
|{{Ayd|28 June 1991|21 July 1991}}
| rowspan="3" |[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Janata Dal]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}" ; |
|-
| 7
| [[File:Jaipal Sudini Reddy - Kolkata 2004-11-10 03212 Cropped.jpg|111x111px]]
| [[Jaipal Reddy]]
| 22 July 1991
| 29 June 1992
|{{Ayd|22 July 1991|29 June 1992}}
|-
| 8
|
| [[Sikander Bakht]]
| 7 July 1992
| 16 May 1996
|{{Ayd|7 July 1992|16 May 1996}}
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |
|-
| 9
| [[File:Shankarrao_Chavan_2007_stamp_of_India_(cropped).jpg|100x100px]]
| [[Shankarrao Chavan]]
| 23 May 1996
| 1 June 1996
|{{Ayd|23 May 1996|1 June 1996}}
|[[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |
|-
| (8)
|
| [[Sikander Bakht]]
| 1 June 1996
| 19 March 1998
|{{Ayd|1 June 1996|19 March 1998}}
|[[H. D. Deve Gowda|Deve Gowda]] [[IK Gujral]]
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |
|-
| 10
| [[File:Prime_Minister_Dr._Manmohan_Singh_in_March_2014.jpg|100x100px]]
| [[Manmohan Singh]]
| 21 March 1998
| 22 May 2004
|{{Ayd|21 March 1998|22 May 2004}}
|[[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |
|-
| 11
| [[File:Jaswant_Singh_(cropped).jpg|100x100px]]
| [[Jaswant Singh]]
| 3 June 2004
| 16 May 2009
|{{Ayd|3 June 2004|16 May 2009}}
| rowspan="2" |[[Manmohan Singh]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" ; |
|-
| 12
| [[File:The_official_photograph_of_the_Defence_Minister,_Shri_Arun_Jaitley_(cropped).jpg|100x100px]]
| [[Arun Jaitley]]
| 3 June 2009
| 26 May 2014
|{{Ayd|3 June 2009|26 May 2014}}
|-
| 13
| [[File:Ghulam Nabi Azad-cropped.JPG|98x98px]]
| [[Ghulam Nabi Azad]]
| 8 June 2014
| 15 February 2021
|{{Ayd|8 June 2014|15 February 2021}}
| rowspan="2" |[[Narendra Modi]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}" ; |
|-
| 14
|
| [[Mallikarjun Kharge]]
| 16 February 2021
| ''Incumbent''
|{{Ayd|16 February 2021|}}
|-
|}

==See also==
*[[Vice-President of India]] (Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha)
*[[Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha]]
*[[Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha]]
*[[Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha]]
*[[Leader of the House in Lok Sabha]]
*[[Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Citation|last=Manisha|first=M.|title=Parliamentary Efficacy and the Role of the Opposition: A Comparative Study of the 2nd and 14th Lok Sabha|date=2010–2011|url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/fellowship/PARLIAMENTARY_EFFICACY.pdf|others=Rajya Sabha Fellowship for Parliamentary Studies|publisher=rajyasabha.nic.in}}
{{Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha}}

[[Category:Lists of members of the Rajya Sabha]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition (India)|Leaders of the Opposition]]
[[Category:Opposition leaders]]

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha - Revision history

Delinker at 15:31, 25 July 2023