NEW DELHI: In a sudden development amid ongoing speculation over his continuation, Rajya Sabha’s outgoing Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh was nominated to the House by President Droupadi Murmu late on Thursday evening.
With this nomination under the President’s quota against a vacancy that arose following the retirement of a former CJI as the member of the House, Harivansh will serve a third consecutive term as a member of the Upper House. His second term as a Rajya Sabha MP expired on April 9.
Hours after being nominated, Harivansh took an oath as a member of the Upper House on Friday. He was sworn in by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, taking the oath in Hindi. His nomination followed a vacancy created by the retirement of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha J P Nadda, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ram Nath Thakur were present during the oath-taking ceremony.
Harivansh, 69, has completed two terms as a Rajya Sabha member representing Bihar and has also served as Deputy Chairman of the Upper House. Speculation now surrounds whether he will continue as Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha following his nomination against a vacancy created by the retirement of a nominated member, particularly as the JD(U) did not re-nominate him for a third term.
A senior journalist-turned-politician, he was earlier elected to the Rajya Sabha from the JD(U) quota and is considered close to JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Before Harivansh took oath, Nitish Kumar was administered the oath as an RS member by Chairman C P Radhakrishnan. This marked the beginning of Kumar’s first term in the Rajya Sabha, and he is expected to resign as Bihar Chief Minister, potentially paving the way for the BJP to install its own leader in the role in the coming days.
Nomination follows vacancy created by ex-CJI
Hours after being nominated, Harivansh took an oath as a member of the Upper House on Friday. He was sworn in by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, taking the oath in Hindi. His nomination followed a vacancy created by the retirement of former CJI Ranjan Gogoi.