The newly elected legislators of the 14th Assembly were administered the oath of office by pro tem Speaker V. Sivakolundu at the Assembly on Thursday.
Congress legislator and Public Works Minister A. Namassivayam was the first to take the oath followed by Ministers Malladi Krishna Rao, M. Candassamy, M.O.H.F. Shahjahan and R. Kamalakannan.
While the majority of the legislators preferred to take oath in Tamil, Malladi Krishna Rao, elected from Yanam and V. Ramachandiran, the lone Independent MLA elected from Mahe, took the oath in Telugu and Malayalam respectively.
Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, who is a non-member, did not take the oath. The first day of the session saw members sharing a warm camaraderie and both the Congress and the AIADMK members exchanged pleasantries.
However, legislators of the AINRC, including former Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, did not turn up for the ceremony. The opposition legislators later took the oath before the pro tem Speaker in his chamber.
When asked why he and his party MLAs didn’t turn up for the ceremony, Mr. Rangasamy said, “We would go by our own schedule and take the oath.” He also said that the candidate for the post of Leader of Opposition would be known in due course of time.
