Linguistic diversity on display in Lok Sabha as new members take oath in Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Odia
Lok Sabha witnessed a display of linguistic diversity on Monday, with the newly-elected MPs taking their oaths in English and Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Bengali, Assamese and Odia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his oath in Hindi amid slogans of «Jai Shri Ram» from the treasury benches.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Urban Development Minister ML Khattar were among those who took oath in Hindi.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the MP from Odisha's Sambalpur, took oath in Odia.
As Pradhan proceeded to take his oath, members of the opposition raised «NEET, NEET» slogans, amid a controversy over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, including the medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG).
Suresh Gopi, the first BJP MP to be elected from Kerala, also took oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Before taking his oath in Malayalam, the actor-politician invoked the gods, saying «Krishna, Guruvayurappa».
Gopi is the Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism and Petroleum. He represents Kerala's Thrissur constituency.
Shripad Yesso Naik, the MoS for Power and Renewable Energy, took his oath in Sanskrit. Naik won a sixth term from the North Goa constituency.
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