Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was sworn in as a Member of Parliament from Raebareli on Tuesday, holding a copy of the Indian Constitution during the ceremony.
He was part of the remaining MPs who took their oaths today after a total of 262 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, did so on Monday, the inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha.
His oath-taking was attended by Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
“I, Rahul Gandhi… do solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India,” Gandhi said, concluding with “Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhan” (Long live India, long live the Constitution).
Gandhi, who won from both Raebareli and Wayanad constituencies, has chosen to retain Raebareli. The Congress party has announced Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature for the upcoming Wayanad by-election.
While Rahul Gandhi won with a margin of 364422 votes from Wayanad defeating Communist Party of India’s Annie Raja, in Raebareli, he won with a margin of 390030 votes from Raebareli defeating Bharatiya Janata Party’s Dinesh Pratap Singh.
Meanwhile, the opposition INDIA bloc has nominated 8-time MP K Suresh for the position of Lok Sabha Speaker, challenging the BJP’s candidate Om Birla.
The opposition’s move came after failed negotiations with the ruling party. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi revealed that they had offered to support the NDA’s Speaker candidate if the Deputy Speaker position was given to the opposition.
(Inputs from ANI)