New MLAs sworn in

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, JUNE 9. The pro tem Speaker of the Pondicherry Assembly, Mr. A.V. Sridharan, today administered the oath to the newly- elected members in the Assembly which began its first meeting after the May 10 poll.

All 29 elected members hailing from Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions were sworn in by Mr. Sridharan. The former Chief Ministers, Mr. R.V. Janakiraman (DMK), Mr. D. Ramachandran (AIADMK) and Mr. V. Vaithilingam (Congress) were among those who drew the attention of the visitors when they were sworn in.

Mr. Malladi Krishna Rao, Independent from Yanam, took the oath in Telugu, his mother tongue. Former Health Minister, Mr. E. Valsaraj (Congress) elected from Mahe took the oath in English. The others took the oath in Tamil.

The 11th Assembly was constituted by the Election Commission after the poll was over. The Secretary to the Assembly, Mr. M. Sivaprakasam, read out the Commission's notification and also the two orders of the Lt. Governor on appointment of the pro tem Speaker before whom the other members could take the oath.

The pro tem Speaker thanked the people for the smooth conduct of the poll and also greeted the members. The 45-minute ceremony was marked by cheerful greetings exchanged by the members.

The BJP member, Mr. A.M. Krishnamoorthy, came to the House with a bunch of lotus flowers presented to him by partymen. The Chief Minister, Mr. P. Shanmugham, was also present.

The pro tem Speaker adjourned the House till 9.30 a.m. on June 11. Election of the Speaker has been slated for that day.

The strength of parties in the 30-member Assembly is: Congress (11), TMC (2), AIADMK (3), DMK (7), PMC (4), BJP (1) and Independents (2). The House has 11 new faces both on the ruling and opposition sides.

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Section  : Southern States
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