Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has constituted a committee to frame rules for “oath-taking and affirmation” of MPs, so that any deviations can be punished, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said at a press conference here on Wednesday at the end of the first session of Parliament after the new Lok Sabha was constituted.
There were several instances of members raising slogans while taking oath as MPs. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi raised a slogan hailing Palestine, while Chhatra Pal Singh Gangwar, Bharatiya Janata Party MP for Bareilly, ended his oath with “Jai Hindu Rashtra”.
“Oath or affirmation is a constitutional process, and there is no scope of politicising it. It is a solemn occasion, and there is a prescribed format to be followed. But this time, we saw several violations,” Mr. Rijiju said.
He criticised the opposition for shouting slogans during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in the Lok Sabha. “Interjections between a speech is fine, but constant heckling is not. The Congress should think that the Prime Minister is the leader of the country, they should respect the chair,” he said.
There is no call yet on election of a Deputy Speaker, Mr. Rijiju said.