As PM Modi takes oath, Opposition waves Constitution copies

New Delhi, June 24

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. As the leader of the House, Modi was the first one to be sworn in.

As the PM took the oath, the entire opposition INDIA bloc leaders waved copies of the Constitution in Parliament. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also greeted in a similar manner.

The oath taking ceremony started today and is scheduled to end tomorrow. Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand MP’s are expected to take oath on Tuesday. A total of 262 MPs from other regional states and Union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi — were administered the oath today.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took an oath as the 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.

Modi took his oath in Hindi, with “Jai Shri Ram” chants from his supporters, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah followed Modi in the oath taking, both used Hindi.

Linguistic diversity of the country was on display at the first day of oath taking ceremony of the 18th Lok Sabha. The MPs also took oath in English, Sanskrit, Dogri, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Telegu and Assamese.

Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari took oath in Punjabi. Tewari who was elected an MP in 2009 and 2019, had taken oath in Punjabi in the previous two terms too. “It’s my mother tongue,” Tewari told The Tribune.

From, Himachal Pradesh former Union Minister Anurag Thakur and actor Kangana Ranaut were among those administered the oath today. Dr Jitendra Singh from Udhampur-Doda seat took oath in Dogri and Jugal Kishore from Jammu followed the suit in Dogri. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, National Conference MP, from Srinagar took the oath in Kashmiri language.

All 10 Haryana MPs, with the exception of Satpal Brahmachari from Sonepat who took the oath in Sanskrit, took the oath in Hindi.

All the seven MPs from Delhi, except Bansuri Swaraj who took the oath in Sanskrit, took the oath in Hindi.

HD Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular), was the first along the NDA allies to take the oath.