The inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which is being dubbed as one of the fiercest in the recent past, even saw the Lok Sabha Speaker amending the oath-taking rules for the new Parliamentarians after a controversy erupted over MPs swearing-in along ideological lines.
The amendment came in the wake of several members raising slogans such as Jai Hind', 'Jai Constitution', 'Jai Shri Ram', ‘Jai Hindu Rashtra’, ‘Jai Bhim’ and 'Jai Palestine" after taking their oaths during the special session of Parliament.
What does the amendment say?
According to the amended rule, mambers are prohibited from adding any remark to the oath-taking as members of the House.
In the new rule, Om Birla added a fresh clause to 'Direction 1' of the 'Directions by the Speaker' for regulating certain matters related to the functioning of the House that are not specifically provided in the rules.
According to the amendment to 'Direction 1', the new clause 3 now states that a member shall make and subscribe to the oath or affirmation, and "shall not use any word or expression or make any remark as a prefix or suffix to the form of oath or affirmation".
The row
A political slugfest ensued after AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi chanted a series of slogans, including ‘Jai Palestine’ and BJP’s Chhatra Pal Singh Gangwar invoked ‘Hindu Rashtra, Jai Bharat,' during the oath-taking ceremony. Later, the remarks were expunged by the Speaker after a war of words erupted between the Opposition and the treasury benches.
Several Opposition leaders including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav took oath holding a copy of the Constitution in their hands and with chants of ‘Long live India, long live the Constitution’. On one occasion, Birla objected to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor saying ‘Jai Samvidhan’ after taking oath as a member of the House.
Rules of oath-taking
According to the rules, before taking their seats in the chamber of the Lok Sabha, every member must make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation prescribed in the Constitution (Article 99).
The Constitution’s third schedule contains the text of the parliamentary oath. “I, A.B., having been elected (or nominated) a member of the Council of States (or the House of the People) do swear in the name of God / solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter.”
Speaking to this newspaper former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achary says swearing in of members is a solemn occasion and that Parliamentarians should adhere to the prescribed format in the Constitution. “When the MPs take the oath, they are giving a covenant to the people that they will abide by the Constitution. It is a sacred duty of an MP. He/she cannot say any other extraneous thing other than what is prescribed in the Constitution. The format should be followed. Otherwise, it will mar the sanctity of the occasion,” said Achary.
Speaking to this paper, Lok Sabha member N K Premachandran said Article 99 of the Constitution states that members of Parliament must take the oath as prescribed in the Third Schedule. It was Premachandran who first raised the issue in the House that the MPs should adhere to the format of oath-taking.
“When the Constitution prescribes a format, it cannot be altered,” he said, adding that the Kerala High Court had ordered Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samithi MLA Umesh Challiyil in 2003 to swear in again after he took oath in the name of Sree Narayana Guru.
Oath or affirmation
“I, A.B., having been elected a member of the House of People, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about enter.”