01 June,2009 12:32 PM IST | | PTI
Pranab Mukherjee and L K Advani today led the newly-elected members of the 15th Lok Sabha in taking oath of affirmation with seniormost member of the House Manikrao Gavit presiding over the session as Protem Speaker.
Mukherjee, the Leader of the House and Advani, the Leader of Opposition were the first to take oath and sign the 'Roll of Members' after Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary called their names.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a member of Rajya Sabha, was present in the House. Mukherjee and Advani were followed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi who took oath in Hindi and BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan who took oath in Sanskrit.
Watching the proceedings from the Speaker's enclosure were Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadra, BJP leader Prakash Javadekar, Congress leaders Keshav Rao, Rajiv Shukla and Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav.
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Former MP Ramdas Athawale was also present in the special gallery. After the Secretary General tabled the list of members elected to the House, Gavit said President Pratibha Patil had nominated senior MPs Basudeb Acharia (CPM), Arjun Charan Sethi (BJD), Biren Singh Engti (Congress) and Sumitra Mahajan (BJP) to preside over the administration of oath to the members.
Gavit also informed the House that SP member Akhilesh Yadav had resigned from his Firozabad seat on May 21. His resignation had been accepted on May 26.
