Lok Sabha session updates: Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav among MPs to take oath today

On the opening day of the 18th Lok Sabha session, 262 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took the oath.

The remaining 281 new MPs, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, will take their oaths on today, with the election for the Speaker’s post scheduled for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the opposition staged a protest march inside the Parliament complex during which MPs from the INDIA bloc raised slogans about “saving democracy” and displayed copies of the Constitution. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Samajwadi leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Dimple Yadav were part of the protest.

The Lok Sabha showcased linguistic diversity on Monday, as the newly-elected MPs took their oaths in English and various Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, and Odia.

Key Highlights from Day 1

– The 18th Lok Sabha’s first day started contentiously on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge clashing over the 1975 Emergency and emphasising the “need to safeguard democracy.”

– In his traditional remarks before the session, Modi highlighted the public’s desire for a responsible opposition, vowing that his government would aim to include everyone and foster consensus.

– Congress member K Suresh, an eight-time MP and a strong contender for the Protem Speaker’s post, along with DMK MP T R Baalu and TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay, did not take their oaths when called to join the panel of chairpersons assisting the pro-tem Speaker. Suresh later took his oath.

– NK Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party, announced that the INDIA bloc would nominate candidates for the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker elections amidst disagreements over Bhartruhari Mahtab’s appointment as pro-tem speaker.

– Leaders of the BJP-led NDA criticised opposition MPs for their “Save Constitution” march to Parliament, suggesting that with the elections concluded, the focus should now shift to national progress rather than political disputes.

– During the brief parliamentary session, the Opposition plans to challenge the government on several issues, including “unemployment, inflation, and economic inequality.”

Lok Sabha events scheduled ahead

The elections for the appointment of the new Lok Sabha Speaker will take place on June 26

President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of both houses on June 27, after which the two houses will discuss and pass the motion of thanks on her address. PM Modi will reply to the discussion in both houses next week.

What’s the relevance of ‘Emergency period’ now?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his pre-Parliament speech, criticised the Congress over the ‘Emergency period,’ referring to it as a “black spot” on democracy when the Constitution was “discarded”.

On June 25, 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a Congress leader, declared Emergency in India, which led to the suspension of civil liberties, imprisonment of opposition leaders and dissidents, and enforcement of press censorship. The anniversary of the 1975-77 Emergency falls on Tuesday.