Nine newly-elected and re-elected members of the Rajya Sabha, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress, took their oaths in the Rajya Sabha Chamber of the Parliament House at 11 am on August 21.

The BJP members who were sworn in are Nagendra Ray, Kesridevsinh Digvijaysinh Jhala, Babubhai Jesangbhai Desai and S. Jaishankar.

After taking his oath, the external affairs minister wrote, "Deeply honoured to take my oath today as the member of the Rajya Sabha, the Council of States of India."

Deeply honoured to take my oath today as the member of the Rajya Sabha, the Council of States of India.Thank the people of Gujarat, Prime Minister @narendramodi and @BJP4India for the opportunity to continue serving the people of the Nation.आज भारत की राज्य सभा के सदस्य के… pic.twitter.com/bF4nKPLKca

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 21, 2023

The Trinamool Congress members who took their oaths include Dola Sen, Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Prakash Chik Baraik, Samirul Islam, and Derek O’Brien.

In a social media post, TMC MP Derek O’Brien noted that among the five individuals who took their oaths that day, two were newcomers — Prakash Chik Baraik and Samirul Islam. He emphasised that these MPs have pledged to serve the people of Bengal and "advocate for the people of India."

Five @AITCofficial TMC Members of #Parliament from Bengal took oath in #RajyaSabha today

Two debutants @ChikPrakash and @Samirul65556476 (two VIDEOS) along with @Sukhendusekhar @Dolasen7 @derekobrienmp pledge to serve the people of Bengal and speak up for the people of INDIA pic.twitter.com/yxk4eE73Ow— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) August 21, 2023

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had already announced the schedule for elections across 10 Rajya Sabha seats. The elections for these seats in Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal were slated for July 24, with vote counting taking place on the same day.

In an earlier development in July, Jaishankar submitted his nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Jaishankar had previously been elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat in 2019, coinciding with his inclusion in the Union Cabinet.

During the recent monsoon session of the parliament, Derek O’Brien, a prominent TMC leader, faced a temporary suspension from the Upper House. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar declared his suspension for the remainder of the session, but O’Brien was subsequently readmitted to the chamber after approximately 35 minutes.

The suspension followed a motion brought forward by Union Minister Piyush Goyal to suspend O’Brien for the duration of the monsoon session.

This action was taken in response to O’Brien’s attempt to speak under rule 267, the rule through which the Opposition alliance had been seeking a discussion on the Manipur issue.

First Published:Aug 21, 2023 2:32 PM IST