No Leader of Opposition: Good for Democracy? By Deepak Parvatiyar August 25, 2014 In a parliamentary democracy, can we undermine the role of the Leader of Opposition (LoP)? By no means. Particularly in recent times, the LoP has evolved into a position of undisputed significance. Yet the absence of a LoP in the 16th Lok Sabha has rather brought into focus certain grey areas concerning the basic fundamentals behind the concept of the post. This revolves around the question on whether LoP is an absolute necessity or not in a parliamentary system. No LoPs till 1969 It is a fact that more often than not, our Lok Sabha has worked without any LoP. For the first time that the Lok Sabha had a LoP was in 1969 – full 22 years after we attained Independence – when Ram Subhag Singh of Indian National Congress (O) became the LoP for a period of one year when the Congress split and 60 of its MPs moved to the opposition benches. What is even more peculiar is that until 1977, t
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