Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged several members used the solemn occasion of taking oath or making affirmation to send a political message…reports Asian Lite News
With some Lok Sabha members resorting to sloganeering during oath taking, Speaker Om Birla has amended the rule which now bars MPs-elect from adding any remark to the oath as members of the House.
Birla added a fresh clause to ‘Direction 1’ to the ‘Directions by the Speaker’ for regulating certain matters related to the functioning of the House that are not specifically provided in the rules.
According to the amendment to ‘Direction 1’, the new clause 3 now states that a member shall make and subscribe oath or affirmation, and “shall not use any word or expression or make any remark as a prefix or suffix to the form of oath or affirmation”.
The amendment came against the backdrop of several members raising slogans like “Jai Samvidhan” and “Jai Hindu Rashtra” while taking oath last week. One member had also raised the slogan ‘Jai Palestine’, which too was objected to by several members. The speaker had urged the members to stick to the prescribed format but in vain.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged several members used the solemn occasion of taking oath or making affirmation to send a political message.
The slogans also led to a war of words between the treasury and the opposition benches on June 24 and 25.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which was adjourned sine die on Tuesday, recorded a productivity of 103 per cent, Speaker Om Birla said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that a total of 7 sittings were conducted during the session for about 34 hours.
During the Session, 539 newly elected members took the Oath, Birla informed.
The first session also saw the re-election of Om Birla as Speaker and the President’s speech.
Birla also informed that 68 members participated in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on President’s Address.
“Referring to the election of Lok Sabha Speaker held on June 26, Birla expressed gratitude for electing him as Speaker for the second time through voice vote,” the release said.
On June 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the Council of Ministers to the House, informed Birla.
Lok Sabha Speaker informed the House that the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address on June 27, lasted for more than 18 hours and 68 Members participated in the discussion. In addition, 50 Members laid out their speeches. The discussion concluded with the reply of the Prime Minister on July 2. Rahul Gandhi’s appointment as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was announced in the House on June 27, he further informed.
Centre reconstitutes cabinet committees, allies get crucial representation
Seven Union ministers representing National Democratic Alliance parties have found a place in the various cabinet committees that were reconstituted on Wednesday. The BJP’s allies have got the highest representation since 2014.
The ministers in the committees and special invitee list are JDS’ HD Kumaraswamy, JDU’s Rajiv Ranjan Singh, TDP’s Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, HAM’s Jitan Ram Manjhi, LJP’s Chirag Paswan, Shiv Sena’s, Prataprao Jadhav, and RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary.
Eight cabinet committees have been reconstituted on Wednesday with Union ministers and the Prime Minister as members.
The Cabinet Committee on Security remains unchanged. It has Prime Minister Modi, Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh; Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs; Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs; Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet is composed of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Cabinet Committee on Accommodation features Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs; Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs, Manohar Lal, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs; and Minister of Power; Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and lndustry.
The Special lnvitee for the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation are Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (lndependent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (lndependent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and Minister of State in the Department of Space.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs features Prime Minister Modi, Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence, Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs; and Minister of Cooperation, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; and Minister of Rural Development, Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, HD Kumaraswamy, Minister of Heavy lndustries; and Minister of Steel, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and lndustry; Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Minister of Panchayati Raj; and Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
The Cabinet Gommittee on Skill, Employment and Livelihood has Prime Minister, Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence, Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs; and Minister of Cooperation, Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and lndustry, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways; Minister of lnformation and Broadcasting; and Minister of Electronics and lnformation Technology, Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Culture; and Minister of Tourism, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labour and Employment; and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Special lnvitee is Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (lndependent Charge) of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education. (ANI)