On Thursday, former Congress president and party stalwart, Sonia Gandhi, embarked on a new chapter in her political journey by taking oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, marking her inaugural tenure in the Upper House of Parliament.
Sonia Gandhi, along with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and twelve others, participated in the swearing-in ceremony presided over by Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, held within the newly inaugurated Parliament house building.
While Sonia Gandhi assumed her role as a representative from Rajasthan, Ashwini Vaishnaw was sworn in as a member from Odisha.
Among the distinguished personalities taking the oath were Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Syed Naseer Hussain, BJP representative R P N Singh, and BJP member Samik Bhattacharya. Additionally, Sanjay Kumar Jha of JD(U), Subhashish Khuntia, and Debashish Samantaray from BJD, as well as Madan Rathore of BJP, officially began their tenure as Rajya Sabha members.
Representatives from YSRCP, including Golla Baburao, Meda Raghunadha Reddy, and Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy, along with Ravi Chandra Vaddiraju from BRS, took the oath to serve as members representing the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Following the oath-taking ceremony, the newly sworn-in members posed for a group photograph with the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
According to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, the terms of the members from Odisha and Rajasthan commenced on Thursday, while others began their tenure a day earlier.
Notably, Sonia Gandhi, in her maiden stint as a Rajya Sabha member, received the oath amidst the presence of key dignitaries, including Leader of the House Piyush Goyal, Congress president, and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge. Her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also attended the ceremony, further highlighting the significance of the occasion.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh and Secretary-General PC Mody, underscoring the solemnity and importance of the event within the parliamentary framework.
