Watch | Constitution in his hand, Rahul Gandhi takes oath as Rae Bareli MP

Opposition leaders, including Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandyopadhyay and DMK’s TR Baalu assembled at the spot where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi statue once stood in the Parliament complex for their protests. They raised slogans such as “long live Constitution”, “we will save Constitution”, “save our democracy”. Rahul Gandhi said they would not allow the Constitution to be “attacked” by Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. “This attack is not acceptable to us and that is why we held the Constitution and took oath,” he added.

I, Rahul Gandhi…

Having been elected a member of the House of People, do solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, and that I will faithfully… pic.twitter.com/sICBGMDMAf

— Congress (@INCIndia) June 25, 2024

Gandhi’s oath was followed by Kishori Lal’s, who wrested back the family bastion of Amethi from former Union minister Smriti Irani. Further, cheers and handshakes followed as Kannauj MP and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav took oath. His wife Dimple Yadav, who emerged victorious from Mainpuri, also took oath.

Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad also took the oath and concluded with ‘Jai Bhim, Jai Bharat, Jai Samvidhaan, Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan‘.

Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s remarks after swearing in came under fire and parts of it were expunged from the Lok Sabha records. He hailed conflict-ridden Palestine after taking oath, triggering an uproar from the treasury benches. Owaisi, however, justified his slogans after he came out of the House and told reporters there was nothing wrong in him saying “Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine”.

Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab returned to the Chair soon, and said that only oath or affirmation is being recorded. “I have said earlier please avoid invoking anything other than oath or affirmation. That is only to be recorded… That should be adhered to,” Mahtab said.

Talking to reporters outside Parliament later, Kiren Rijiju said he will check the rules regarding Owaisi’s remarks. Meanwhile, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy took a jibe at Owaisi, questioning if he could say “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” (hail mother India).

Meanwhile, Supriya Sule of the NCP (SP), Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT) were also among the newly-elected members who took oaths. After being sworn in, Sule touched Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab’s feet and also sought blessings from Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

When the name of Alfred S Arthur, the Congress’ Outer Manipur MP, was called for taking oath, Gandhi stood up and shook hands with him. After taking his oath in English, Arthur said, “Manipur mei nyay dilaye, desh bachaiye.” The swearing-in of both the MPs took place amid “Manipur, Manipur” slogans by Congress members.

Many of the MPs raised “Jai Hind”, “Jai Maharashtra”, “Jai Bheem” and “Jai Shivaji” slogans after taking oath.

With inputs from PTI