NEW DELHI   -   India’s new leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday that his lawmakers would not be silenced, in his first speech since formally taking up a post vacant for a decade. 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,” 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.” In the past two parliaments, Gandhi’s once-mighty Congress party did not have enough seats in the legislature to qualify him for the post.

Modi’s first two terms in office followed landslide wins for his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allowing his government to drive laws through parliament with only cursory debate.

However, the BJP won only 240 seats in this year’s poll, its worst showing in a decade, and 32 seats below a majority. That forced it to rely on coalition allies to build a 293-seat majority in the 543-seat lower house. Modi, 73, on Monday appealed to an emboldened opposition for “consensus” following his election setback.