Last Updated: June 24, 2024, 23:47 IST
Parliament Highlights: 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 the opposition members in an act of protest against the ruling coalition government held copies of the Constitution of India. BJP’s Bhartruhari Mahtab was sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker of the House.
This term, the NDA holds a majority with 293 seats, while the BJP has 240 seats, which is just shy of the 272 majority mark on its own. The Opposition INDIA bloc on the other hand has 234 seats.
During the Prime Minister’s oath-taking, opposition members rose to their feet, holding copies of the Constitution. When home minister Amit Shah was taking his oath, they again held up the copies of the Constitution but remained seated.
The opposition parties, including the Congress, said that they will not allow the Prime Minister to escape without accountability. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of attacking the Constitution.
India’s rich linguistic diversity was on full display during the oath-taking ceremony as newly-elected MPs took their oaths in their native languages. The oath-taking ceremony saw lawmakers taking their oaths in English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia.
