Twenty-seven newly elected Rajya Sabha members, including Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, took oath on Friday.
Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Mukul Wasnik, RLD's Jayant Chaudhary and BJP's Surendra Singh Nagar are prominent names among the members who took oath.
The members elected to the Rajya Sabha during the recent biennial polls took oath in the presence of Chairman of the House M. Venkaiah Naidu in the chamber of the Upper House. These 27 members from 10 states took oath in 10 languages - 12 in Hindi, four in English, two each in Sanskrit, Kannada, Marathi and Oriya and one each in Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. Four of the 57 newly-elected members have taken oath recently.
During an interaction with some leaders and members of the House after the oath taking ceremony, Chairman Naidu clarified that those elected members who are still to take oath also can vote in the Presidential election on July 18. Naidu further elaborated that from the date of the notification of the winners in the elections to Rajya Sabha, they are deemed to be Members of the House and making oath/affirmation is only a prerequisite for the newly elected members to participate in the proceedings of the House and of its Committees.
Others who took oath are Vivek K. Tankha, K. Laxman, Laxmikant Vajpayee, Kalpana Saini, Sulata Deo and R. Dharmar. Fourteen of the 57 members were re-elected to the House.
Naidu informed that the ensuing Monsoon Session of the House will also be held as per the Covid-19 protocol conforming with the social distancing and safety norms.
Naidu urged the members to uphold the dignity and decorum of the House through meaningful deliberations and abiding by the rules and conventions. Rajya Sabha Chairman advised the members to make proper use of the ample opportunities that will be available under various instruments of the House and to attend the House regularly during the sessions.