18th Lok Sabha Session Kicks Off, PM, Ministers Take Oath

Srinagar- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took oath as the Member of Parliament for the 18th Lok Sabha.

“Proud to serve our nation. Taking oath as a Member of Parliament,” PM Modi captioned a video on X (formerly Twitter), depicting him taking an oath in the Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament.

Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive term after forming a coalition government this month following the Parliamentary Elections 2024.

Before the commencement of the 1st session of the 18th Lok Sabha, PM while addressing to media began his statement by calling today’s occasion a proud and glorious day in parliamentary democracy as it is the first time after independence that the oath ceremony would take place in the new Parliament.

“On this important day, I heartily welcome all the newly elected MPs and congratulate everyone,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Modi also expressed his gratitude towards the citizens for electing the government for the third term and said that it puts a stamp of approval on the government’s intentions, policies and dedication towards the people.

The Prime Minister underlined the responsibility of all Members of Parliament to collectively fulfil the resolve of a developed India and strengthen the trust of the people. He said that 25 crore citizens coming out of poverty creates a new belief that India can succeed and get rid of poverty very soon.

“The people of our country, 140 crore citizens, do not hold back in working hard. We should provide them with maximum opportunities,” the Prime Minister emphasised.

Modi returned to power for his third consecutive term in office earlier this month. He and his Council of Ministers were sworn in on June 9.

This is also his third term as a member of the Lok Sabha. In the recently held Lok Sabha election, Modi retained his Varanasi seat, which he has been winning since 2014. As the leader of the House, he was the first one to be sworn in.

Modi took the oath in Hindi amid slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” raised by members of the treasury benches.

While he was taking the oath, opposition members rose to their feet, holding copies of the Constitution. When Shah came to take the oath, they again held up the copies of the Constitution but remained seated.

Among the Council of Ministers, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are members of the Rajya Sabha, while ministers of state George Kurian and Ravneet Singh are not members of either House.

Besides Rajnath Singh and Shah, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also took the oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

While Rajnath Singh was re-elected from the Lucknow seat in Uttar Pradesh, Shah returned from Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Gadkari from Nagpur in Maharashtra. All three took the oath in Hindi.

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.

They will help pro-tem speaker B Mahtab run the House when the members take the oath on Monday and Tuesday.

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 panel of chairpersons like Singh and Kulaste, did not turn up.

The Congress has taken objection to Mahtab’s appointment, contending that the claim of eight-term member Suresh, a Dalit leader, was overlooked. The INDIA bloc has said opposition leaders Suresh, Baalu and Bandopadhyay would not join the panel of chairpersons as a mark of protest.

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.

Manjhi and Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh belong to NDA partners Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and JD-U respectively.

Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy took the oath in Kannada, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Odia, Ports and Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Assamese, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu and Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy in Telugu and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi in Kannada.

Kumaraswamy is from the JD-S and Naidu is from the Telugu Desam Party.

Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy Shripad Y Naik took the oath in Sanskrit.

Earlier in the day, B Mahtab took the oath as a member of the new Lok Sabha as well as that of its pro-tem speaker at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Before the proceedings started, all members observed silence for a few seconds to mark the solemn occasion of the first sitting of the new House.

After the oath of the members of the Union Council of Ministers who won the Lok Sabha election, newly-elected members from various states were sworn in, starting from Bishnu Pada Ray, who represents the Andaman & Nicobar Islands constituency.

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