Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Amends Rule, MPs Cannot Raise Slogans During Oath

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, added a new clause to the existing norms regarding functioning of the Lower House of Parliament after some MPs resorted to sloganeering during the oath.

The new norm prohibits any MP from adding any comment or remark to the oath as members of the House.

The fresh clause was incorporated in the ‘Direction 1’ of the ‘Directions by the Speaker’. As per the amendment, the new clause 3 states that a member “shall not use any word or expression or make any remark as a prefix or suffix to the form of oath or affirmation.” The clause 3 has been added with effect from June 28.

This move came in response to sloganeering by MPs, who resorted to ‘Jai Samvidhan,’ ‘Jai Hindu Rasthra’ and ‘Jai Palestine’ while taking oath as members of 18th Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25. While INDIA bloc members vehemently opposed the ‘Jai Hindu Rashtra’ of the BJP MP from Bareilly and said that it goes against the principles of the Constitution of India, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje objected to Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s ‘Jai Palestine’ slogan. When Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor raised the ‘Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhan’ slogan, Birla had also quipped that he was already taking an oath on the Constitution.

The Speaker later stated that he would form a panel as members were uttering words beyond the requisite text while taking oath.