New Delhi: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, actor Sunny Deol and Aam Aadmi Party's lone MP Bhagwant Mann were among the leaders who took oath as members of 17th Lok Sabha on Tuesday. There was loud applause when BJP MP Om Birla, who is tipped to be the NDA's nominee for Lok Sabha Speaker's post, entered the House and later when he got up to take oath.
IUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal and former Union ministers Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Preneet Kaur and Shashi Tharoor were also administered oath on the second day of the maiden session. Dressed in jeans, white shirt and blazer, Deol took oath in English amid cheers and slogan of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' from the treasury benches.
There was a slip of tongue by the BJP MP from Gurdaspur when he said "withhold the sovereignty and integrity of the country" instead of "uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the country", but he quickly rectified it. There was some banter between Mann and members of treasury benches after he ended his oath with the slogan 'Inqalab Zindabad'.
Badal concluded his oath with Sikh religious chant of 'Wahe Guruji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guruji de Fateh". Tharoor was absent on Monday when other members from Kerala, including Rahul Gandhi, took oath. Kaur, who is the wife of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, had a bandage on her forehead.
Former Union minister P Chidambaram was sitting in the Speaker's Gallery as his son Karti Chidambaram was to tak oath. The maiden session of 17th Lok Sabha commenced on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari among the prominent members who took oath on the first day.
