First Parl session after LS elections to begin today: PM Modi, other MPs to take oath; NEET-UG 2024 controversy, Speaker election in focus

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is all set to begin from today with the oath-taking by the newly elected members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the first session of the Parliament after the recently conducted Lok Sabha elections, wherein the BJP secured 240 seats and the NDA won 293 seats.

In the first session, the Opposition is expected to corner the BJP-led NDA government on the Speaker election, discussions around paper leaks and other irregularities in NEET-UG and UGC-NET and a row over the appointment of the pro-tem Speaker.

President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to 7-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the Lok Sabha pro-tem Speaker. After this, Mahtab will call upon PM Modi to take oath as a member of the House and also oversee the proceedings of the House. Furthermore, the President appointed Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudip Bandyopadhyay to assist him in oath taking of the newly-elected members.

Moreover, the newly elected MPs of the Congress party will meet at 10 am today at the CPP office in Parliament. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi targeted the BJP on the irregularities in NEET-UG 2024 and said they stand with the students. A row over appointment of the pro-tem Speaker is also expected to erupt in the Parliament. 

The move to appoint Bhartruhari Mahtab instead of the 8-time Congress MP K Suresh has drawn flak from the Opposition, which claimed that the BJP did not follow parliamentary tradition and alleged that the Congress member K Suresh was overlooked by the government. 

"We are claiming that an eighth-term MP should be the pro-tem Speaker...They have done wrong and now the whole country is criticising the decision of the BJP government," K Suresh said.

Commenting on this, Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said Mahtab had 7 uninterrupted terms as Lok Sabha speaker whereas K Suresh lost elections in 1998 and 2004, making his current term as the fourth straight one in the Lok Sabha. Previously, K Suresh was elected to the lower house in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999. 

Samajwadi Party Parliamentary meeting, chaired by Akhilesh Yadav, will also be held on Monday in Delhi. After today's session, the election of the Lok Sabha speaker will take place on June 26 and President Droupadi Murmu will address both the Houses on June 27. 

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held from June 24 till July 3 for the oath-taking of newly elected members. The 264th session of the Rajya Sabha will also start from June 27 and will end on July 3. The last session of the 17th Lok Sabha, which was also the Budget session, took place between January 31 and February 10, 2024.