41 newly elected Rajya Sabha members take oath

New Delhi: As many as 41 newly-elected members, including several Union Ministers among the 18 who have been re-elected, to the Rajya Sabha took oath on Tuesday, the first day of their six-year term.

Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu, while welcoming the newly-elected members, asked the first-timers to soon get themselves acquainted with the etiquette, procedures and rules of conduct of the House.

Those who took oath included C.M. Ramesh, K. Ravindra Kumar, Manoj Kumar Jha, Ahmad Ashfaque Karim, Mahendra Prasad, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Bashistha Narain Singh, Saroj Pandey, Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Naranbhai Rathwa, Parshottam Rupala, Amee Harshadray Yajnik, Devender Paul Vats, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Thawar Chand Gehlot.

The other members who took oath were Rajmani Patel, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ajay Pratap Singh, Kailash Soni, Vandana Chavan, Anil Desai, Prakash Javadekar, Keshav Chintaman Ketkar, V. Muraleedharan, Narayan Rane, Anil Agarwal, Ashok Bajpai, Anil Kumar Jain, Kanta Kardam, G.V.L. Narasimharao, Sakaldeep, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Harnath Singh Yadav, Anil Baluni, Abir Ranjan Biswas, Subhasish Chakraborty, M. Nadimul Haque, Santanu Sen and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Saroj Pandey took oath from her seat after the Chair permitted her to do so as she was unable to walk due to fracture in her leg.

Welcoming the newly-elected members, Chairman Naidu said, "On behalf of the whole House and on my own behalf, I extend a very cordial welcome to the newly-elected and reelected members of this House. I think, I need not highlight the fact that to be elected to this House is a rare distinction and a privilege which should humble you."

He said that the election to the upper House of Parliament entails "heavy responsibilities and duties to strengthen the cause of democracy".

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He said that the 18 members who have been reelected are well-versed with the "rules, practices, procedures and nuances of the functioning of this House" and that the new members will "soon familiarize themselves with the rules of procedure, etiquette, practice and convention of the House as well as learn from the rich and vast experience of veteran Members who followed good practices".

"We look forward to the valuable contribution of newly-elected Members in the functioning of the House and in raising people-oriented issues more effectively and purposefully. I have no doubt that they would work assiduously to enliven the debates of the House with their knowledge and expertise and conduct themselves with dignity and grace through a dispassionate discussion in the House, and with the goodwill and willingness to understand each other's points of view we shall achieve our objects better.

"I hope, all members would endeavour to enhance the dignity and prestige of this august House, thus strengthening our parliamentary institutions," Naidu said.

The Chairman also noted that the oath-taking ceremony "reflected the rich linguistic diversity of our great country" as members took oath in nine languages out of which "eight are Indian languages and mother tongues of the members".

More members will join the House in the coming days.

IANS