Leader of the House

Subject: Polity

Context: Commerce and Textiles Minister PiyushGoyal has been appointed as the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha.

Concept:

The term Leader of the House has been defined in Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha
Leader of the House, according to Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha means the prime Minister, if he is a Member of the House or a Minister who is a Member of the House and is nominated by the Prime Minister to function as the Leader of the House.
The Prime Minister is invariably the Leader of the Lok Sabha.
It has been the practice that during the protracted absence of the Leader of the House when Lok Sabha is in session, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, in consultation with the former, intimates to the Speaker as to who would act as the Leader of the House, but no formal announcement in this regard is made in the House.
The Leader of the House is an important parliamentary functionary and exercises direct influence on the course of parliamentary business.
The whole policy of the Government especially in so far as it is expressed in the inner life of the House and in measures dealing with the course of its business, is concentrated in his person.