The Rajya Sabha secretariat has begun preparations for the swearing-in of 37 MPs elected unopposed to the upper house, a person aware of the development said on Thursday.
Two sets of days in June have been identified for administering oath to the members from 10 states elected in March. Dates will be communicated to the MPs once the Rajya Sabha Chairman, M Venkaiah Naidu, finalises them.
According to the functionary who spoke on condition of anonymity, Naidu has asked the secretariat to frame a plan for the staggered swearing-in of the newly elected MPs.
“Two sets of dates for the first week of June and two for the second week have been identified. The dates will be finalised, depending on flights and the quarantine rules to be followed. The MPs have to be given sufficient time to get to New Delhi,” the functionary said.
Two MPs, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had been asked to be prepared for June 4 and 5.
“I was told the dates will be confirmed soon, but to remain ready for next Thursday or Friday,” said one MP.
While 37 members were elected unopposed, elections to fill 18 of the total of 55 vacancies were scheduled for March 26. But the elections have been deferred indefinitely because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The MPs will be called in batches after May 31, when lockdown 4.0 ends. They will be administered the oath of office in the chairman’s chambers, following all protocols for social distancing,” said the functionary quoted above.
The oath ceremony will not be open to even families of the MPs, in keeping with the strict protocol of limiting the number of people present in the House.
Among the 37 who were elected unopposed are Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Union minister Ramdas Athawale, Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Congress’s Rajeev Satav. From Tamil Nadu, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, deputy speaker M Thamidurai from the AIADMK and TMC chief GK Vasan were among six elected unopposed.
In April, the Rajya Sabha secretariat had announced that the newly elected members had been advised to wait for subscribing to the oath or affirmation till the end of the Covid-19 lockdown.
It said while members elected to the house are entitled to make and subscribe the prescribed oath or affirmation and take their seat in the House only upon commencement of their term of office under relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act, the Constitution (Article 99) and rule 5 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha do not prescribe any time limit for a newly elected member to subscribe oath or affirmation.
New members are not entitled to sit, participate and vote in the House or in a committee until they have subscribed the oath or affirmation.
The order also said newly elected members are entitled to all facilities, perks and privileges available to Members of Parliament from the date of commencement of their term of office, which is the date of notification of their election to the Rajya Sabha by the law ministry.
