Can’t add extra remark: Speaker Om Birla amends rules for taking oath in Lok Sabha

New Delhi, July 4

Speaker Om Birla has effected amendments to the oath-taking rules for MPs, preventing them from adding any remark or slogan while doing so, a practice witnessed during the oath ceremony for the 18th Lok Sabha, when several newly elected lawmakers raised slogans, which was tantamount to giving a political message.

Several members had raised slogans like “Jai Samvidhan” and “Jai Hindu Rashtra” while taking oath as MPs. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi garnered a lot of attention while raising the slogan “Jai Palestine” after the oath.

The amendment has come after the matter was highlighted with the Speaker’s office. Even Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday pointed out that MPs should only read out the format given to them while taking oath and should not go beyond that.

Now, a new clause has been added to “Direction 1” within the “Directions by the Speaker” to manage specific matters related to the House’s functioning that are not explicitly covered by existing rules.

According to the amendment to “Direction 1”, the new clause 3 says that a member shall take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation without using any words or expressions as prefixes or suffixes to the prescribed form.