Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several of his Cabinet colleagues and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were among those who took oath as members of the 16th Lok Sabha on Thursday.
The Prime Minister was the first to take oath amid thumping of desks. He took oath in Hindi in the name of God and was followed by BJP veteran L. K. Advani. Several Union Ministers took oath in Hindi in the name of God, with Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti and Harsh Vardhan taking oath in Sanskrit. Sonia Gandhi made the affirmation in Hindi and so did Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
Several Ministers preferred to take oath in their mother tongue, including D. V. Sadananda Gowda, Ananth Kumar and G. M. Siddheshwara, who took oath in Kannada. Sarbananda Sonowal took oath in Assamese and Jual Oram in Odia.
Senior members Arjun Charan Sethi (BJD), P. A. Sangma (NPP) and Biren Singh Engti (Cong), appointed on the Panel of Chairpersons by the President to help the Protem Speaker in oath taking process, took oath after Mr. Modi, Mr. Advani and Ms. Gandhi.
