*■ LEADER OF THE HOUSE OF THE OPPOSITION*
*#Parliament*
◇ In each House of Parliament, there is the *‘Leader of the Opposition’.* The leader of the largest Opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of the total strength of the House is recognised as the leader of the Opposition in that House.
◇ In a parliamentary system of government, the leader of the opposition has a significant role to play. His main functions are to provide a *constructive criticism* of the policies of the government and to provide an alternative government. Therefore, the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the *Rajya Sabha* were accorded statutory recognition in *1977.*
◇ They are also entitled to the salary, allowances and other facilities equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.
◇ It was in *1969* that an official leader of the opposition was recognised for the first time. The same functionary in *USA is known as the ‘minority leader’.*