The Congress on Tuesday named senior West Bengal leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury its leader in the Lok Sabha. He is the lone Congress MP from West Bengal, and has represented Berhampore since 1999.
The National Democratic Alliance nominated two-time Bharatiya Janata Party MP Om Birla for the post of Lok Sabha speaker. The election for the post is scheduled for Wednesday.
The first Parliament session of the 17th Lok Sabha began on Monday and will end on July 26. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as other Union ministers and newly elected representatives in the Lower House, were administered oath by pro tem Speaker Virendra Kumar on Monday. The swearing-in ceremony of new MPs continued on Tuesday.
5.55 pm: The Lok Sabha has been adjourned for the day.
4.41 pm: Sonia Gandhi, the only Congress MP from Uttar Pradesh, takes oath as a Lok Sabha member.
4.11 pm: BJP MP Om Birla meets former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
4.03 pm: The Congress names senior West Bengal leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury its leader in the Lok Sabha, say multiple reports. Chowdhury is the lone Congress MP from West Bengal representing Berhampore since 1999.
4.02 pm: BJP MP from Mathura Hema Malini takes oath as a Member of Parliament at the Lok Sabha.
2.13 pm: The National Democratic Alliance has nominated two-time BJP MP Om Birla for the post of Lok Sabha speaker, tweets BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya. Birla is an MP from Kota-Bundi seat in Rajasthan.
The BJP gave a notice to the Lok Sabha Secretariat to propose Birla’s name for the post, PTI reports. The proposal has the backing of all NDA partners.
1.57 pm: All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi takes a dig at those who shouted “Jai Sri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” in the Lok Sabha when he was taking oath. “It is good that they remember such things when they see me, I hope they will also remember the Constitution and deaths of children in Muzaffarpur,” he tells ANI.
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1.37 pm: Congress MP from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, Karti Chidambaram, has taken oath at the Lok Sabha, reports ANI. Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has also been sworn in.
12.45 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Rajasthan Om Birla is the front runner for the post of the speaker in the Lok Sabha, according to news reports. Birla, who met BJP Working President JP Nadda earlier in the day, denied any knowledge of his nomination. Members of the Lok Sabha applauded when Birla entered the House and to take oath.
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12.41 pm: The Congress is still undecided about the appointment of its leader in the Lower House, reports News18. “The issue of appointment of the leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha was not discussed,” Congress leader from West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters after a strategy meeting.
According to unidentified party officials, Chowdhury is in the running along with Kerala unit Working President K Suresh, spokesperson Manish Tewari and Thiruvanathapuram MP Shashi Tharoor.
12.34 pm: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and actor Sunny Deol – the BJP parliamentarian from Gurdaspur – have taken oath as members of 17th Lok Sabha, reports PTI. During the ceremony, Deol mistakenly said he would “withhold the sovereignty and integrity of the country” instead of upholding “the sovereignty and integrity of the country”. However, he quickly rectified it.
12.33 pm: BJP MP from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Hema Malini, is in Parliament.
12.30 pm: Aam Aadmi Party MP from Sangrur in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, has taken oath as member of the Lok Sabha, reports ANI. He concludes the ceremony by shouting “Inquilab Zindabad”.