As expected, the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha turned out to be stormy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi raking up the Emergency and the Congress responding to it with a show of strength inside the Parliament and calls to save the Constitution.
Addressing the media in the Parliament complex at the beginning of the first session of the new Lok Sabha, PM Modi observed that Emergency's 50th anniversary falls on June 25, and described it as a "black spot" on India's democracy when the Constitution was discarded.
Taking a dig at the opposition, Modi said, “India needs a responsible Opposition and people want substance not slogans. They want debate, diligence not disturbance in Parliament.”
Kharge reacts
The Congress was quick to react to this jibe, with Mallikarjun Kharge claiming that Modi is resorting to diversion as he has nothing new to offer. He said Modi made a longer than usual customary address "but clearly, even after the moral and political defeat, the arrogance remains".
"Narendra Modi ji, you are giving advice to the Opposition. You are reminding us of the 50-year-old Emergency, but have forgotten the last 10 years of Undeclared Emergency, which was ended by the people. " he said in a post on 'X'.
Opposition show of strength
In what appears to be a show of strength, the INDIA bloc marched to the Lok Sabha chamber on the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, holding copies of the Constitution in their hands. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi, TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay and T.R. Baalu were part of the show of strength.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of attacking the Constitution and said the opposition would not allow the prime minister to escape without accountability.
"We would not allow the attack on the Constitution that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are doing. This attack is not acceptable to us" he told reporters in Parliament complex.
Asked whether the message of the opposition was reaching out to the people, Gandhi said, "Our message is reaching the public and no power can touch the Constitution of India and we will protect it."
Later, taking social media, Gandhi said the prime minister is busy saving his government
"Psychologically on the backfoot Narendra Modi is busy saving his government. The attack on the Constitution by Narendra Modi and his government is not acceptable to us - and we will not allow this to happen under any circumstances," he said.
"INDIA's strong opposition will continue its pressure, raise the voice of the people and will not allow the Prime Minister to escape without accountability," he added.
Modi, council of ministers take oath
Modi and members of his council of ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, took the oath as Members of Parliament.
Modi took the oath in Hindi amid slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" raised by members of the treasury benches.
Before them, senior members Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both from the BJP), who will assist the pro-tem speaker in administering the oath to the newly elected MPs, were sworn in as members of the new House.
They will help pro-tem speaker B Mahtab run the House when the members take the oath on Monday and Tuesday.
Congress member K. Suresh (Congress), T.R. Baalu (DMK) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC), who were called to take oath as they were also appointed as panel of chairpersons like Singh and Kulaste, did not turn up to take oath.
The Congress had taken objection to Mahtab's appointment, contending that the claim of eight-term member Suresh, a Dalit leader, was overlooked. The INDIA bloc has said opposition leaders Suresh, Baalu and Bandopadhyay would not join the panel of chairpersons as a mark of protest.
—With PTI inputs
