Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde will be the new leader of the house in the Lok Sabha, replacing Pranab Mukherjee, who is now the country’s president.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.K. Bansal said here Friday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had nominated Shinde to the post.

Shinde, 70, is a Congress MP from Solapur in Maharashtra and is a former chief minister of the state.

Shinde was Monday shifted from power ministry and appointed home minister in place of P. Chidambaram, who became the finance minister.

Party sources said Shinde’s seniority and his cool temperament had worked in his favour for a post that requires constant interaction with the opposition to sort out contentious issues.

Lok Sabha rules state that the leader of the house “shall be the Prime Minister or otherwise a minister nominated by Prime Minister”.

Speculation had been rife about Shinde’s appointment as the leader of the house in the Lok Sabha though 10 Congress MPs had petitioned party president Sonia Gandhi last month that party general secretary Rahul Gandhi should be appointed to the post.

A party MP had suggested that Sonia Gandhi herself should take over the post.

Shinde belongs to the Dalit community and his nomination to the prestigious post is likely to be pitched by Congress leaders as a move towards the community’s empowerment.