Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, flaunting a red pocket Constitution, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav with a blue one, Trinamool Congress’ Mahua Moitra and former Speaker Om Birla, who is looking at a second straight term in office, were among the prominent MPs who took oath on the second day of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Some of the other notable MPs who affirmed to their duties as lawmakers were DMK’s Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, BJP MP and former actor Hema Malini, Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AlMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi.
Follow highlights from Parliament on June 25, 2024
A total of 262 members took oath on Monday, pro-tem speaker Bhatruhari Mahtab said as the House assembled in the morning. Among those who could not be present were Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Trinamool Congress’ Shatrughan Sinha and Deepak Adhikari and Independents Rashid Engineer and Amritpal Singh and Samajwadi Party’s Afzal Ansari.
Mr. Gandhi, who took oath as an MP from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, said “Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhan” (hail India, hail Constitution) as he held aloft his copy of the red Constitution book. His mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen witnessing the event from the visitor’s gallery.
Several Opposition MPs took oath while holding a copy of the Constitution.
There was a fair share of controversies too.
Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar, BJP MP from Bareilly, elicited protests from the Opposition ranks for making a majoritarian comment after taking oath. Opposition MPs said his remarks were unconstitutional.
A reference to a West Asian region by Mr. Owaisi also triggered an uproar from the treasury benches.
Reacting to his comments, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told the media outside the House: “Is it appropriate for any member to raise a slogan praising another country? We will see the rules”.
Independent MP from Purnea in Bihar, Pappu Yadav took oath wearing a shirt with “RE-NEET” written on it, a reference to the demand for holding the controversy-ridden National Eligibility cum Entrance test for medical admissions once again. Mr. Yadav was also seen engaging with pro-tem Speaker Mr. Mahtab when he asked him to wind up his oath-taking.
NCP’s Supriya Sule was on the other hand seen touching Mr. Mahtab’s feet after taking oath and also sought blessings from Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
When Mr. Birla, who was also the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, came to take his oath, Radha Mohan Singh, who was in the Chair, stood up and greeted him.
Also read: Hyderabad MP Owaisi invokes Palestine during his oath-taking in Lok Sabha
As Manipur MPs Angomcha Bimol Akoijam and Alfred Kan-Ngam Arthur, were called for taking oath, Opposition members shouted “Manipur, Manipur”.
Even after taking oath in English, Mr. Arthur appealed in Hindi to save his strife-torn State. “Manipur mei nyay dilaye, desh bachaiye. (Bring justice to Manipur, save the country)”.
When Trinamool’s Mahua Moitra, who had been expelled from the 17th Lok Sabha walked up to take oath, her party MPs were heard shouting, “Look how she has come back. The ethics committee has lost, Mahua Moitra has won”.
Published - June 25, 2024 06:17 pm IST
