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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has amended the oath-taking rules for MPs, barring them from making any remarks while being sworn in as members of the House. The change came in response to slogans raised by several members during the swearing-in ceremony of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25.
A new section has been added to 'Instruction 1' under 'Instructions to the Speaker' to manage specific matters related to the functioning of the House, which are not clearly covered in the existing rules. According to the new rule, now the elected MPs taking oath in future will have to take oath according to the format of taking oath under the Constitution. Now MPs will neither be able to raise slogans nor add any other words to their oath while taking oath.
There will be no slogans now
Rule 389 of the Rules of Procedure and Business in Lok Sabha (Seventy-fifth Edition) has been substituted as per the direction of the Speaker of Lok Sabha. Now a new Clause-3 has been added after Clause-2 in Direction-1 of Rule 389. Accordingly, a member shall make and subscribe the oath only in accordance with the form prescribed for the purpose in the Third Schedule to the Constitution of India. No person shall use the word or any other word or expression as a prefix or suffix to the oath.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that several members used the sacred occasion of oath-taking to send political messages. These slogans led to a war of words between the ruling party and the opposition on June 24 and 25. Powers are traditionally reserved for the ruling party's cabinet.
Let us tell you that during the oath taking ceremony last week, many members raised slogans of 'Jai Samvidhaan' and 'Jai Hindu Rashtra'. One member even raised the slogan 'Jai Palestine', to which many members objected. Despite the then Protem Speaker appealing to the members to follow the prescribed format, these instructions were ignored.
