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Rajya Sabha welcomes new members with oath ceremony

2023-08-24

In a dignified ceremony held within the Rajya Sabha chamber at the Parliament House, nine members officially took their oath of office on August 21. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar administered the solemn pledge, marking the commencement of their legislative roles.

Among the dignitaries taking the oath was the esteemed External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, embarking on his second term as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP), having initially been elected in 2019. The oath was conducted in English, reflecting the multilingual nature of India's parliamentary proceedings.

Joining Jaishankar were several notable faces from various political parties. Representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were MPs Babubhai Jesangbhai Desai and Kesridevsinh Digvijaysinh Jhala from Gujarat, along with Nagendra Ray from West Bengal. Five members from the Trinamool Congress also took their oath, including Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Prakash Chik Baraik, and Samirul Islam.

The ceremony demonstrated linguistic diversity as four members chose Bengali for their oath, three opted for Hindi, and two used English, as reported by the Rajya Sabha secretariat.

The oath-taking event was graced by distinguished attendees, including Leader of the House and Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, and the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, P C Mody. Notably, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh represented the party president and Leader of Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, as a proxy.

Chairman Dhankhar extended a warm welcome to the families of the newly sworn-in MPs, with a notable presence of women. This underscored a poignant moment, where the shared sentiment emphasised the significance of daughters in our world. As the ceremony concluded, the members embarked on their legislative journeys, contributing to the democratic discourse of the nation.