New Delhi:

As several MPs took oath in their mother tongue in Lok Sabha on Monday, BJP MP from Saran in Bihar Rajiv Pratap Rudy rued the fact that he could not take the oath in Bhojpuri.

The Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia.

The MPs can subscribe to the oath or affirmation in English or any of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Bhojpuri, however, is not listed in the Eighth Schedule.

Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who defeated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate and party supremo Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya, said it was nice to see MPs taking oath in their mother tongue.

At the time, the oath-taking was being presided over by Radha Mohan Singh, a BJP MP from Bihar’s Purvi Champaran.

“Everyone is taking oath in their own languages and it feels so good… It would have been even better if we could have taken oath in Bhojpuri,” Rudy said, addressing the Chair.

#18thLokSabha: Rajiv Pratap Rudy, (BJP) takes oath as Member of Parliament (Saran, Bihar)

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“I will read my oath,” he said, and proceeded with taking the oath in Hindi. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Abdul Rashid Sheikh could not take oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha on Monday despite his name being called as he is lodged in jail since 2019 after being charged by the NIA in a terror-funding case.

Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, defeated former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah to win the parliamentary polls from the Baramulla seat as an Independent candidate.

He is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

A Delhi court on Saturday asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to respond by July 1 to an application filed by Rashid, seeking interim bail to take oath as an MP.

Additional Sessions Judge Kiran Gupta fixed the matter for hearing on July 1 and directed the NIA to file its reply by then. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)