16 April,2026 04:47 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
BJP national president Nitin Nabin (left), Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur (centre), and senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Pic/ X
BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, and senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, along with 13 other newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs, took the oath of office on Thursday, PTI reported.
Vice-President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the 16 newly elected or re-elected members, representing Bihar, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana.
Of the 16 MPs, eight are from the BJP and three from its allies, while the remaining five belong to the Congress.
After being elected BJP's national president, Nabin moved to the Upper House following his resignation from the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He took the oath in Hindi amid thumping of desks, the news agency reported.
Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur, who has been re-elected to the House from Bihar, also took the oath. Upendra Kushwaha (RLM) and Shivesh Kumar (BJP) are among those representing Bihar.
From Assam, Terash Gowalla (BJP), Jogen Mohan (BJP), and Pramod Boro (UPP-L) took the oath of office.
Laxmi Verma (BJP) and Phulo Devi Netam (Congress), representing Chhattisgarh, along with Karamvir Singh Boudh (Congress) and Sanjay Bhatia (BJP) from Haryana, also affirmed their allegiance to the Constitution.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vem Narendra Reddy, both from the Congress and representing Telangana, were administered the oath.
Sujeet Kumar (BJP) from Odisha and Anurag Sharma (Congress) from Himachal Pradesh were also among those who took the oath as Rajya Sabha MPs.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress in Haryana on Thursday suspended five of its MLAs from the party's primary membership with immediate effect for allegedly cross-voting during last month's Rajya Sabha elections, PTI reported.
Taking serious note of the violation of organisational discipline, the party suspended the five MLAs from its primary membership for anti-party activities, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh said.
He added that the action was taken following the recommendation of the State Disciplinary Committee and with the approval of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The party had earlier named five legislators - Naraingarh MLA Shalli Chaudhary, Sadhaura MLA Renu Bala, Punhana MLA Mohammad Illyas, Hathin MLA Mohammad Israil, and Ratia legislator Jarnail Singh - for defying the official party line.
(With PTI inputs)
