The forgotten language Sanskrit was the flavour of the lok Sabha on Thursday with several MPs taking oath in the ancient tongue. The 16th lok Sabha got off to a speedy start, creating a record of sorts with 510 of the 539 members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top leaders taking oath on a single day. This is the first time that so many members have taken oath on a single day.
Among the top names, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took the oath in Sanskrit followed by Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Several MPs from Rajasthan like CP Joshi and Sumedhanand Saraswati led others in taking the oath in the ancient language. However, it was the members from Uttar Pradesh (UP) who surprised the House as one after another many of them chose Sanskrit to confirm their membership to the 16th lok Sabha. In fact, one lost count once UP’s turn came with several members opting for the rich ancient language. Sanskrit’s distinct diction continued to reverberate in the House for a long time.
Attired in a spotless white kurta-pyjama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to take the oath amid thumping of desks. He took the oath in Hindi in the name of God and he was followed by BJP veteran lK Advani and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Then came the turn of the panel of chairpersons — PA Sangma, BS Engti and Arjun Charan Sethi — so that they could sit in the Speaker’s chair to conduct proceedings by turn to assist the pro-tem Speaker Kamal Nath. This was followed by oath-taking by the members of the Council of Ministers.
The country’s diversity was on full display as the House, boasting of over 300 first-timers, including Modi, saw a festive atmosphere. With many donning their traditional dress and headgears, most members took oath in their mother tongue.
Sonia Gandhi made the affirmation in Hindi and so did Ram Vilas Paswan of lJP.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh also took the oath in Hindi, so did Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and his cousin Varun as-well-as actress-turned-politician Hema Malini.
Vinod Khanna, another actor of yesteryears took oath in English. Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav (the wife of UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav) also took oath in Hindi. Ministers who chose to take the oath in their mother tongue Kannada, included DV Sadananda Gowda, Ananth Kumar and GM Siddeshwara, while Sarbananda Sonowal took oath in Assamese and Jual Oram in Odia.
The spirit of democracy was visible in the House as members and leaders were cheered by their political rivals also. Many members,
including leaders from rival sides, greeted each other after taking oath or making the affirmation.
The pro-tem Speaker expedited the proceedings by asking the lok Sabha Secretary General P Sreedharan, who sat through the marathon oath-taking exercise, to call the names of two members at a time so that the next person was waiting while the first was taking oath.
With only 29 members left to take oath, the election of the Speaker is expected to take place early on Friday.