New Delhi, In a show of force, members of the opposition INDIA bloc on Monday waved copies of the Constitution in Parliament as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Home Minister Amit Shah was also received in a similar manner. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took oath as a member of the Lok Sabha amid NEET-NET chants by opposition members, even as a controversy unfolds over entrance exams that have put the government in the dock.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool leader Kalyan Banerjee and Samajwadi Party leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad were sitting in the front row of the opposition benches.
In a battle of prestige, Prasad defeated two-time BJP MP Lallu Singh from Faizabad, the constituency comprising Ayodhya, by a margin of 54,567 votes.
Congress member Kodikunnil Suresh, DMK's TR Baalu and Trinamool Congress member Sudip Bandyopadhyay walked out of the House as the oath-taking began as a mark of protest against Mahtab's appointment as the interim president.
The three opposition members were appointed to the presiding panel to assist the interim president. The panel of chairpersons took oath immediately after Prime Minister Modi, leader of the 18th Lok Sabha.
As Suresh, Baalu and Bandyopadhyay chose to remain absent, the other two members named in the panel, BJP Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste, took oath after the Prime Minister.
Opposition members were heard raising the slogan "violation of the Constitution" as the panel was sworn in.
Hugs and greetings marked the beginning of the 18th Lok Sabha as members walked towards the cavernous lower house chamber, some touching the threshold reverently as they embarked on the journey as public representatives.
First-term legislator Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of late BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj, was among the first to enter the Lok Sabha chamber. She mingled with her companions, exchanging greetings and clicking photographs.
Members of the TDP, a key ally of the BJP, sported yellow headscarves, while members of the Samajwadi Party walked in the Lok Sabha chamber wearing red caps and pale red 'gamchas'. They waved copies of the Hindi version of the Constitution.
TDP's K Ram Mohan Naidu, the youngest member of the Union cabinet, hugged fellow minister Chirag Paswan of the LJP (RV) and warmly greeted Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Actor-politician Ravi Kishan of the BJP arrived at the House dressed in a dhoti-kurta, while Anita Chouhan, a first-term BJP member from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, wore a traditional attire.
Arun Govil, a BJP member from Meerut, who played the role of Lord Ram in the television series Ramayan, was seen circling and greeting his colleagues as he began his political entrances.
Another actor and politician, Kangana Ranaut, who won for the first time on a BJP ticket from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, entered the Lok Sabha chamber wearing a white saree.
Both Ranaut and Govil were seen sitting in the eighth and ninth row respectively.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was sitting in the third row.
Home Minister Amit Shah was also received in a similar manner. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took oath as a member of the Lok Sabha amid NEET-NET chants by opposition members, even as a controversy unfolds over entrance exams that have put the government in the dock.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool leader Kalyan Banerjee and Samajwadi Party leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad were sitting in the front row of the opposition benches.
In a battle of prestige, Prasad defeated two-time BJP MP Lallu Singh from Faizabad, the constituency comprising Ayodhya, by a margin of 54,567 votes.
Congress member Kodikunnil Suresh, DMK's TR Baalu and Trinamool Congress member Sudip Bandyopadhyay walked out of the House as the oath-taking began as a mark of protest against Mahtab's appointment as the interim president.
The three opposition members were appointed to the presiding panel to assist the interim president. The panel of chairpersons took oath immediately after Prime Minister Modi, leader of the 18th Lok Sabha.
As Suresh, Baalu and Bandyopadhyay chose to remain absent, the other two members named in the panel, BJP Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste, took oath after the Prime Minister.
Opposition members were heard raising the slogan "violation of the Constitution" as the panel was sworn in.
Hugs and greetings marked the beginning of the 18th Lok Sabha as members walked towards the cavernous lower house chamber, some touching the threshold reverently as they embarked on the journey as public representatives.
First-term legislator Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of late BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj, was among the first to enter the Lok Sabha chamber. She mingled with her companions, exchanging greetings and clicking photographs.
Members of the TDP, a key ally of the BJP, sported yellow headscarves, while members of the Samajwadi Party walked in the Lok Sabha chamber wearing red caps and pale red 'gamchas'. They waved copies of the Hindi version of the Constitution.
TDP's K Ram Mohan Naidu, the youngest member of the Union cabinet, hugged fellow minister Chirag Paswan of the LJP (RV) and warmly greeted Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Actor-politician Ravi Kishan of the BJP arrived at the House dressed in a dhoti-kurta, while Anita Chouhan, a first-term BJP member from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, wore a traditional attire.
Arun Govil, a BJP member from Meerut, who played the role of Lord Ram in the television series Ramayan, was seen circling and greeting his colleagues as he began his political entrances.
Another actor and politician, Kangana Ranaut, who won for the first time on a BJP ticket from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, entered the Lok Sabha chamber wearing a white saree.
Both Ranaut and Govil were seen sitting in the eighth and ninth row respectively.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was sitting in the third row.
