Mallikarjun Kharge To Replace Ghulam Nabi Azad As Leader Of Opposition In Rajya Sabha

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge will replace Ghulam Nabi Azad as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Ghulam Nabi Azad is set to retire from the Upper House on February 15.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge will replace outgoing member Ghulam Nabi Azad as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha. The leader of the opposition post will fall vacant on February 15 as Ghulam Nabi Azad will retire after serving at the position for over six years since June 8, 2014. 

The Congress has written to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for appointing Kharge to the post of leader of the opposition after Azad's retirement.

Mallikarjun Kharge is a Dalit leader from Karnataka and was the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019. The grand old Congress 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 per cent of the total number of seats in the Lower House for claiming the post.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi bid a teary-eyed farewell to Ghulam Nabi Azad in Rajya Sabha

During the budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi heaped praise on the Congress veteran and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad for his efforts to rescue the people of Gujarat once stuck in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which eight people had been killed. 

Recalling the horrifying incident, PM Modi in his speech during the Rajya Sabha said that Azad was the first to call him to inform him about the incident. The Prime Minister said Mr Azad's tears would not stop.

"I will never forget Shri Azad’s efforts and Shri Pranab Mukherjee’s efforts when people from Gujarat were stuck in Kashmir due to a terror attack. Ghulam Nabi Ji was constantly following up, he sounded as concerned as if those stuck were his own family members," PM Modi said. 

Ghulam Nabi Azad turned emotional during his farewell speech

Ghulam Nabi Azad turned emotional as he bid goodbye to the Upper House on Tuesday. During his farewell speech, Ghulam Nabi Azad said that he considers himself extremely fortunate to be among those who did not go to Pakistan after partition and feels proud to be a “Hindustani Muslim”.

Delivering his farewell speech, Azad said every Muslim feels proud of the fact that they are in India. “I never went to Pakistan and I think I am fortunate. I am among those fortunate people, who never went to Pakistan. When I read about the circumstances in Pakistan, I feel proud to be a Hindustani Muslim."