First Session of 18th Lok Sabha: Oath-Taking, Speaker Election, and Opposition Concerns
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will start on Monday in New Delhi. Newly-elected Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will take their oaths. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker. Mahtab will then call upon Prime Minister Modi to take his oath as a member of the House.
On June 26, the Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected, and on June 27, President Murmu will address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament. The session is expected to be intense as the opposition plans to challenge the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on various issues, including the election of the Speaker, allegations of paper leaks in NEET-UG and UGC-NET, and the appointment of the pro-tem Speaker.
The NDA secured 293 seats in the recent general elections, while the INDIA bloc won 234 seats, with Congress holding 99 of them. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have voiced their support for students affected by the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam.
The appointment of Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker has sparked controversy. The opposition claims that Congress Member K Suresh, the senior-most member, was overlooked. Congress leader K Suresh criticized the decision, stating that an eighth-term MP should have been appointed. Congress MP Hibi Eden also expressed disappointment, saying that the NDA government has violated traditions and customs by not appointing the senior-most member as the pro-tem Speaker.
President Murmu has also appointed Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste, and Sudip Bandyopadhyay to assist the pro-tem Speaker in administering the oaths to the newly-elected members. The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will run from June 24 to July 3, and the 264th Session of the Rajya Sabha will commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3.
Additionally, the Samajwadi Party will hold a parliamentary meeting on Monday in Delhi, chaired by party National President Akhilesh Yadav.
