Clamour within Congress for making Rahul leader of opposition

He said that by taking up the position, Rahul Gandhi would be signalling that he has the "courage" to take the responsibility of leading the party in parliament after the rout it suffered in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress won only 44 seats while its rival Bharatiya Janata Party won 282 and formed the government.

The leader admitted that some Congress leaders are angling for the position as well.

Officially, party spokesperson Shashi Tharoor told reporters Friday that when it came to the question of appointing the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, "the political leadership should be the face of the party too".

Kamal Nath, a senior Congress leader and former minister whose name was in circulation for the position, has been named as pro-tem speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha and will administer the oath to the newly-elected members.