Indian opposition chief Rahul Gandhi vows lawmakers will not be silenced

They represent the voice of the people and doing so is a non-democratic’ idea, he says

India’s new Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said on June 26 that his lawmakers would not be silenced, in his first speech since formally taking up a post vacant for a decade.

Mr Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chief rival, was appointed by fellow opposition lawmakers to the post in a signal of a reinvigorated challenge to the government.

“The government has political power, but the opposition also represents the voice of India’s people,” Mr Gandhi said in a speech in the Lower House of Parliament, accompanied by supportive thumps by his party’s lawmakers on their desks.

“This time, the opposition represents significantly more voice of the Indian people.”