Sonia, Ashwini among 14 sworn in as RS members

Sonia Gandhi took oath as a member of the Upper House from Rajasthan, and Vaishnaw was sworn in as a member of the same house from Odisha 

PTI & agencies, 4 April 2024 : Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw were among the 14 who took oath as members of the Rajya Sabha today. Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar administered the oath to them in the new Parliament house building. While Sonia Gandhi took oath as a member of the Upper House from Rajasthan, Mr Vaishnaw was sworn in as a member of the same house from Odisha.

The swearing-in ceremony of the newly inducted MPs took place in the new Parliament building and was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar. Sonia Gandhi took oath as a member of the Upper House from Rajasthan for the first time, and Vaishnaw was sworn in as a member of the same house from Odisha. 

Congress leaders Ajay Maken, who is the treasurer of the All India Congress Committee and a member of the Congress Working Committee and Syed Naseer Hussain from Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader RPN Singh from Uttar Pradesh, and BJP member Samik Bhattacharya from West Bengal were among the 14 who took the Rajya Sabha oath.

Sanjay Kumar Jha of the Janata Dal (United) also took oath as a member from Bihar, Subhashish Khuntia and Debashish Samantaray, both from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), took oath as members from Odisha, while Madan Rathore of the BJP took oath as Rajya Sabha member representing Rajasthan.

Below is the full list of Rajya Sabha MPs sworn in:

-Sonia Gandhi (Congress) — Rajasthan

-Ashwini Vaishnaw (BJP) — Odisha

-Ajay Makan (Congress) — Karnataka

-Syed Naseer Hussain (Congress) — Karnataka

-RNP Singh (BJP) — Uttar Pradesh

-Samik Bhattacharya (BJP) — West Bengal

-Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU) — Bihar

-Subhashish Khuntia (BJD) — Odisha

-Debashish Samantaray (BJD) — Odisha

-Madan Rathore (BJP) — Rajasthan

-Golla Baburao (YSRCP) — Telangana

-Meda Raghunadha Reddy (YSRCP) — Telangana

-Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy (YSRCP) — Telangana

-Ravi Chandra Vaddiraju (BRS) — Telangana

Sonia Gandhi took oath in the presence of Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal, and Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.

The former Congress president has opted for a seat in Rajya Sabha, giving up contesting the Lok Sabha elections 2024 leader Sonia Gandhi took oath as a member of the Upper House from Rajasthan, left vacant by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's retirement. 

Meanwhile, Ashwini Vaishnaw was sworn in as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Odisha leaders Ajay Maken, and Syed Naseer Hussain from Karnataka, BJP leader R P N Singh from Uttar Pradesh, and BJP member Samik Bhattacharya from West Bengal were among the 14 who took the Rajya Sabha oath.

Kumar Jha of JD(U) also took oath as a member from Bihar, Subhashish Khuntia and Debashish Samantaray, both of BJD took oath as members from Odisha, while Madan Rathore of BJP took oath as RS member representing Rajasthan.

Golla Baburao, Meda Raghunadha Reddy, and Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy, and BRS leader Ravi Chandra Vaddiraju from Telangana also took oath as members representing the state of Andhra Pradesh all later took a group photograph with the Rajya Sabha Chairman. 

Rajya Sabha secretariat said that the terms of the members from Odisha and Rajasthan started from Thursday. 

All others started their term from Wednesday.

Gandhi has become a Rajya Sabha member for the first time. She took oath in the presence of Leader of the House Piyush Goyal and Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present during her oath-taking.