First session of 16th Lok Sabha from June 4-11

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu has said the 16th Lok Sabha will convene from June 4 to June 11 for its first session.

"The swearing in of the new members will take place June 4 and June 5. The election of the speaker will take place June 6," he said, after a meeting of the Union Cabinet.

Adding that President Pranab Mukherjee will address the joint session of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha June 9, Naidu said "the 16th Lok Sabha will convene from June 4-11."

The Rajya Sabha will convene with the joint session June 9. The motion of thanks to the president's address will be on June 10-11, the minister added.

Naidu also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the discussion on the president's address in both houses of Parliament.

Senior Congress MP Kamal Nath will be the Pro-tem Speaker who will administer the oath to the new members. He will be assisted by a panel of Chairmen, consisting of Arjun Charan Sethi (BJD), Purno A Sangma (National People's Party) and Biren Singh Engti (Congress).

When asked whether Congress would be given the post of the Leader of Opposition despite it not having the requisite numbers, Naidu said: "We are studying various precedents while discussing the issue. There is still time to take that call."

"We have not zeroed in on anyone. We don't want to zero in anyone," he said when asked whether any name has been shortlisted for the post of the Speaker.