Sunday , September 29 2024

Unveiling the Tradition: The Fascinating Story Behind the Lok Sabha Oath Ceremony

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Lok Sabha Oath Ceremony: The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is starting from June 24. During this, the newly elected members will take oath. After that, the Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected on June 26 and on June 27, President Draupadi Murmu will address the joint meeting of both the houses. BJP leader and seven-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab has been appointed as the temporary Speaker (Pro tem Speaker) of the lower house of Parliament. President Draupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Mahtab as the temporary Speaker of the Lok Sabha at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. After this, Mahtab will reach Parliament House and start the proceedings of the Lok Sabha at 11 am. Although the term of the Lok Sabha starts from the day the Election Commission announces the election results, but there is a law for the newly elected MPs to take oath before participating in the proceedings of Parliament. 

The tradition of parliamentary oath
The oath is mentioned in the third schedule of the constitution. According to this, ‘I… as a member (elected/nominated) of the House (lower/upper house) do swear in the name of God/true allegiance to the Constitution that I will protect the sovereignty and unity of India and will discharge my duties with true spirit…’

When the constitution was being drafted, the chairman of the drafting committee, Dr. BR Ambedkar, did not mention the word God in the oath. At that time, the drafting committee had talked about taking an oath of true loyalty to the constitution, but when the members of the Constituent Assembly discussed it, the word oath of God was added on the insistence of members like KT Shah and Mahavir Tyagi. Regarding this, KT Shah had said that when I observed the draft, I felt that there was something missing in it. We felt that the mention of God should be included in it. Mahavir Tyagi argued that those who believe in God should have the freedom to take oath in the name of God and those who do not want to do so can take an oath related to faith in the constitution. Ambedkar accepted these amendments. In the last Lok Sabha, 87 percent people took oath in the name of God and 13 percent took oath of allegiance to the Constitution.