Lok Sabha session updates: Highlights on June 24, 2024

The BJP has begun consultations with its allies on the ruling NDA’s candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post while the Opposition INDIA bloc is considering its options and may force a contest to score political points, sources said on Monday, a day before the filing of nomination for the key position.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which enjoys a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, gave little indication about its choice as it weighs its options and looks to deny the Opposition any opportunity to mount a political attack.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Union Minister K. Rammohan Naidu told reporters that the alliance’s leaders, including his party’s president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, will take a decision on the matter, adding that no final decision has been conveyed to them yet.

PTI

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned and will meet again at 11 a.m. on June 25. The first session of the Lok Sabha began with various prominent leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, taking oaths as Members of Parliament.

MP Amra Ram reached Parliament in a tractor on the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha’s first session for members to take oath.

The Sikar MP was stopped close to the Parliament gate by police, who did not allow him to take the vehicle inside the complex. The MP then walked to the Parliament building.

“They did not allow farmers to come to Delhi. For 13 months, farmers were sitting at Delhi’s borders, their tractors were not allowed in the city,” Amra Ram told PTI.

Abdul Rashid Sheikh could not take oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha despite his name being called as he is lodged in jail since 2019 after being charged by the NIA in a terror-funding case.

Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, defeated former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah to win the parliamentary polls from the Baramulla seat as an Independent candidate. He is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

PTI

In a show of strength, the Opposition INDIA bloc members waved copies of the Constitution in Parliament as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha.

Home Minister Amit Shah was also greeted in a similar manner. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took oath as Lok Sabha member amid chants of NEET-NET by the Opposition members even as a controversy is raging on the entrance examinations that has put the government in the dock.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool leader Kalyan Banerjee, and Samajwadi Party leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad were seated in the first row in the Opposition benches.

PTI

As several MPs took oath in their mother tongue in Lok Sabha, BJP MP from Saran in Bihar Rajiv Pratap Rudy rued the fact that he could not take the oath in Bhojpuri.

The Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia.

The MPs can subscribe to the oath or affirmation in English or any of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Bhojpuri, however, is not listed in the Eighth Schedule.

PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at the Congress over the imposition of Emergency in 1975, calling it a “black spot” on democracy when the Constitution was “discarded”. It brought back memories of the 21-month period when the then prime minister Indira Gandhi ordered a crackdown on civil liberties. 

Gandhi announced the imposition of Emergency in a broadcast on All India Radio late night on June 25, 1975, shortly after the Supreme Court granted a conditional stay to the Allahabad High Court verdict declaring her election to the Lok Sabha as null and void. The apex court asked Gandhi to stay away from parliamentary proceedings.

Taking a swipe at the Congress without naming it, Mr. Modi said the Emergency’s anniversary falls on June 25 and termed it a black spot on India’s parliamentary history when the Constitution was discarded and the country turned into a prison. 

PTI

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh welcomed the appointment of J.P. Nadda as the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, and hoped he would take the Opposition along by allowing it to raise its issues.

BJP president and Union Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda has been named Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, official sources said.

Mr. Nadda replaces Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who recently won the Lok Sabha election and took oath on Monday as a member of the Lower House of Parliament.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Besides Mr. Nadda, 11 other members of the Upper House of Parliament are in the Union Council of Ministers.

Opposition leaders hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “Emergency” remark on Monday, questioning his government’s style of functioning and saying that it needs to focus on present issues. 

Addressing the media in the Parliament complex ahead of the start of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Modi mentioned that the anniversary of the Emergency falls on June 25 and termed it a black spot in India’s parliamentary history when the Constitution was discarded and the country turned into a prison. 

Reacting to the remark, Mahua Moitra of the TMC said the BJP fell short of a majority in the election because the people of the country have realised that it is against the Constitution.

“From 303, the BJP is down to 240, they are running a minority government. They kept saying ‘400-paar’ but could not even get a simple majority.

“The only reason is that the people of the country have understood that there is BJP on one side and the Constitution on the other. People have chosen the Constitution,” Ms. Moitra said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ani Desai said the Emergency period is long over and the government should focus on the present.

“The Emergency period has gone, but what is the situation today? No one likes recalling the Emergency... I hope the dark days don’t return,” he said.

RSP leader N.K. Premchandran also said that talking about the 1975 Emergency is “insignificant” at this juncture. 

Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) MP Chandrashekhar said the Prime Minister should follow his own advice.

More than two dozen students, some of them NSUI members, were detained while protesting against irregularities in NEET-UG and cancellation of UGC-NET exams here at Jantar Mantar on Monday.

The Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India had planned a march to the Parliament on the day of the commencement of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha.

The students, holding placards and NSUI flags, gathered in large numbers at Jantar Mantar for their ‘Chhatra Sansad Gherav’. 

According to visuals of the protest shared with media, some students tried to go past the barricades, while a few others climbed on the structure.

They were detained by the Delhi police and taken to different police stations since no permission was granted for the march, an officer said. 

The Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly-elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his oath in Hindi amid slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” from the treasury benches.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Urban Development Minister M.L. Khattar were among those who took oath in Hindi.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the MP from Odisha’s Sambalpur, took oath in Odia.

Suresh Gopi, the first BJP MP to be elected from Kerala, also took oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha. Before taking his oath in Malayalam, the actor-politician invoked the gods, saying “Krishna, Guruvayurappa”.

Shripad Yesso Naik, the MoS for Power and Renewable Energy, took his oath in Sanskrit. 

MoS for Education and Development of North Eastern Region Sukanta Majumdar took his oath in Bengali.

Pune MP Muralidhar Mohol, the MoS for Aviation, took his oath in Marathi.

Union Minister Jitender Singh, the MP from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur took his oath in Dogri.

Union Minister of Port and Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal and Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu took their oaths in Assamese and Telugu, respectively.

Steel and Heavy Industries Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi took their oaths in Kannada while Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy took his oath in Telugu. 

PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of his Council of Ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, took the oath as Members of the 18th Lok Sabha as its first session began on Monday. 

Besides Rajnath Singh and Mr. Shah, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also took the oath as Members of the 18th Lok Sabha. Before them, senior members Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both from the BJP), who will assist the pro-tem speaker in administering the oath to the newly elected MPs, were sworn in as members of the new House. 

Congress members K. Suresh (Congress), T.R. Baalu (DMK) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC), who were called to take oath as they were also appointed as the panel of chairpersons like Mr. Singh and Mr. Kulaste, did not turn up. 

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Jitan Ram Manjhi and Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh also took the oath as members of the new Lok Sabha.

PTI

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have spoken over the NEET row instead of attacking the opposition on the first day of the Parliament session.

“While attacking the opposition is the prerogative of the Hon PM & we wouldn’t expect BJP being humbled in the recent polls to change that, it would have been in the fitness of things for the Hon PM to spare a few words for the young men & women for whom the #NEET scandal is the only issue that matters,” he said on X.

“Exam pe charcha isn’t a one-off but a long-term commitment to the interests & concerns of students,” Mr. Abdullah said.

est against alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and cancellation of UGC-NET exams here at Jantar Mantar on Monday.

The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) plan to take out a march to gherao the Parliament on the day of the commencement of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha.

Scores of NSUI members gathered at Jantar Mantar to register their protest against the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam.

However, police officials said that no such march has been given permission and security arrangements have been made to prevent any attempts. 

The Congress said Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had nothing new to offer in his remarks ahead of the start of the 18th Lok Sabha and “as usual resorted to diversion” and that he has forgotten that the last 10 years of “undeclared emergency” was ended by the people.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Prime Minister Modi made a longer than usual customary address “but clearly, even after the moral and political defeat, the arrogance remains”.

Mr. Kharge said the nation was hoping that Modi would say something on important issues.

“Narendra Modi ji, you are giving advice to the Opposition. You are reminding us of the 50-year-old Emergency, but have forgotten the last 10 years of Undeclared Emergency, which was ended by the people,” he said in a post on ‘X’. 

The President has appointed seven-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the ‘Speaker pro tem’ of the 18th Lok Sabha. The election of the full-time Speaker is scheduled for June 26. There are also reports of the Deputy Speaker being offered to one of the allies of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a post that has been held by the Opposition since the 10th Lok Sabha (1991). 

What does the office of the ‘Speaker pro tem’ mean? What does the Constitution state? Who elects the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha? How can the impartiality of the Speaker’s office be preserved? What are the main roles of the Speaker? 

​Click here to know more about it. ​

President Droupadi Murmu on June 24 administered oath to BJP member B. Mahtab as ‘Speaker Pro-tem’ of the newly-constituted 18th Lok Sabha. 

A seven-time MP, Mahtab, along with a panel of chairpersons is tasked with running the proceedings of the Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25 when winning candidates will take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

On June 26, he will preside over the House when a new Speaker will be elected. Mr. Mahtab along with the panel of chairpersons was appointed by the President on June 20.

As the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha commenced on June 24, various prominent leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, took oaths as Members of Parliament. 

Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy, Chirag Paswan, Kiren Rijiju, Nitin Gadkari, and Mansukh Mandaviya took oaths as members of the 18th Lok Sabha, amongst others. 

Union Ministers Bhupender Yadav, Giriraj Singh, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, BJP MP Piyush Goyal, and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also took oaths as members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Tourism, Suresh Gopi, took oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 24.

Actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi literally rewrote political history not only for Thrissur but also of the State after the BJP opened an account in Kerala in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Mr. Gopi won from Thrissur constituency with a margin of 74,686 votes.

INDIA bloc MPs gathered in the Parliament complex on June 24 for a show of strength as they marched to the Lok Sabha together on the first day of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha raising slogans to “save Constitution”.

Opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandyopadhyay, DMK’s T.R. Baalu, assembled at the spot where the Gandhi statue once stood in the Parliament complex.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi also joined the MPs for the show of strength. - PTI

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took oath as a member of the Lok Sabha on June 24 amid slogans of ‘NEET’ by the Opposition in the House.

With the Lok Sabha 2024 election results signalling a resurgent INDIA bloc, row over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and the now-cancelled UGC-NET exam has emerged as a point of contention between the new BJP-led NDA government and the Opposition alliance. 

Earlier in June, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi decided to retain the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh and vacate the Wayanad seat with his sister and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making her debut from the Kerala Lok Sabha seat in a bypoll.

Mr. Gandhi won both the seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election but as rules allow only one seat to be retained, he had to choose within 14 days of being elected as an MP.

Today, as the Parliament session began, pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab accepted his resignation as MP from Wayanad.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was the first to take oath among the Cabinet minister. Cabinet ministers will followed by Minister of State (independent charge), Minister of State and then other members. - Sandeep Phukan

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath as Member of Parliament, pro tem Speaker B. Mahtab called out the names of those members who were on the panel of Chair. Names of K. Suresh of the Congress, T.R. Baalu of the DMK, TMC MPs Sudip Bandopadhyay and Sudip Bandopadhyay were called out. They didn’t come to take oath. Other two on the panel, Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste of the BJP took oath.

- Sandeep Phukan

The Congress on June 24 said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has nothing new to offer and as usual resorted to “diversion” in his remarks ahead of the start of the 18th Lok Sabha.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the PM has shown no evidence that he understood the true meaning of people’s verdict.

“The non-biological PM who suffered a resounding personal, political, and moral defeat in the Lok Sabha elections has just given his usual ‘desh ke naam sandesh’ outside the Parliament as the 18th Lok Sabha prepares to commence its tenure,” he said. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24 took the oath as member of the 18th Lok Sabha. Earlier today, addressing the media in Parliament complex at the beginning of the first session of the new Lok Sabha, he said that people have given his government mandate for a third consecutive term and have put a stamp of approval on its policies and intentions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the 18th Lok Sabha begins on Monday with a resolve of building a ‘Shreshtha Bharat’ and ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Addressing the media in Parliament complex at the beginning of the first session of the new Lok Sabha, PM Modi asserted that his government will take everyone along in fulfilling the aspirations of the people. 

Welcoming new MPs, he said the 18th Lok Sabha commences with a dream of building a developed India by 2047.

- PTI

“People expect good steps from Opposition, it has been disappointing so far but I hope it will fulfil its role, maintain democracy’s decorum,” the PM said, adding “India needs responsible Opposition; people want substance not slogans, they want debate, diligence not disturbance in Parliament.”

“People have given our govt mandate for a third term, have put stamp of approval on our policies, intentions,” said the PM ahead of first Parliament session and noted that the Emergency’s 50th anniversary falls on June 25 and called it a ‘black spot’ on India’s democracy when Constitution was discarded.

President Droupadi Murmu on June 24 administered oath to BJP member B. Mahtab as ‘speaker pro-tem’ of the newly-constituted 18th Lok Sabha.

A seven-time MP, Mr. Mahtab, along with a panel of chairpersons is tasked with running the proceedings of the Lok Sabha on Monday and Tuesday when winning candidates will take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

“We will always strive to take everyone along, build consensus to serve country, fulfil people’s aspirations,” said PM Modi ahead of Parliament session on June 24.

“The senior most MP is appointed the pro-tem Speaker. K. Suresh of Congress is the 8th term MP. Normally, he should have been appointed. INDIA group has decided that they will not ask any of its members to do the job of pro-tem speaker. We shall help or assist the government in this matter,” said TMC leader Saugata Roy.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh reached the Parliament on June 24 as the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha begins today.

According to sources, the Opposition leaders will assemble where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi was placed earlier. They are also likely to carry a copy of the Constitution with them, according to news agency ANI.

BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab who has been appointed pro-tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and other party leaders left from his residence in Delhi as the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha begins on June 24.

After seventh-term BJP MP Bhratruhari Mehtab was appointed as pro-tem Speaker, instead of Congress leader K. Suresh, who is an eighth-term MP, the MPs of the India bloc have decided not to sit on the Speaker’s chair to assist the pro-tem Speaker during the oath-taking ceremony of MPs, sources told ANI.

The Congress has reacted sharply to the Central government’s decision to appoint Mr. Mahtab as Pro-tem Speaker of Lok Sabha over senior-most Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh of Congress, saying that the appointment by the BJP deviates from the traditional practice of appointing the senior member.

The 18th Lok Sabha’s inaugural session, between June 24 and July 3, will see the newly-elected MPs taking oath, some for the first time. 

Among these are 74 women MPs, a decrease from the 77 MPs in the previous Lok Sabha, the highest ever recorded. West Bengal leads as the State electing the most women MPs, at 11. At 38%, Trinamool Congress is the party with the greatest proportion of women among its Lok Sabha MPs. The only other party which committed to field more women was the Biju Janata Dal, in Odisha.

In 1957, there were just 45 women candidates contesting the Lok Sabha election; in 2024 there were 799 — 9.5% of the total candidates in the fray. Of this 74 were elected, representing 13.6% of the MPs in the 543-seat House.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on June 24 said he was positively looking forward to coordination to run Parliament, as the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha gets underway.

“The First Session of the 18th Lok Sabha begins today, the 24th June, 2024. I welcome all the newly elected Hon’ble members. I shall be always available to assist the members as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. I’m positively looking forward to co-ordination to run the house,” Mr. Rijiju said.

- PTI

The eighteenth Lok Sabha has the lowest share of Muslim MPs in six decades. Less than 5% of its members currently are Muslims despite people from the community forming over 15% of the country’s population. In total, there are currently 24 Muslim MPs (4.4%) in the Lok Sabha. Notably, the record low occurred despite a considerable spike in the share of Muslim MPs from the Indian National Congress, the second-biggest party in the current Lok Sabha.

The party with the most members in 2024, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has no representatives from the Muslim community currently. In fact, the decline in the share of the Muslim MPs in the Lok Sabha, in the 1990s, coincided with the rise of the BJP, whose total MP tally crossed the 100 mark for the first time in the 10th Lok Sabha (1991-96).

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha beginning on June 24 will see oath-taking by newly elected members followed by election of the Lok Sabha Speaker on June 26 and President Droupadi Murmu’s address to joint sitting of both the Houses on June 27.

The row over the appointment of BJP leader and seven-term member Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro tem Speaker is likely to cast a shadow over the session. The move has drawn flak from the Opposition, which alleged that the claim of Congress member K. Suresh to the post was overlooked by the government.