Giant-killer Smriti Irani comes to House, gets loudest cheer

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday led the swearing-in of new members of

Lok Sabha

to the chants of "Modi, Modi" and thumping of the desk from the BJP ranks, setting in motion the 17th Lok Sabha which bears an overwhelming BJP presence and a heavily shrunk opposition camp.


The short oath in Hindi by the PM unveiled the process with protem Speaker Virendra Kumar in chair. The panel of presiding officers, K Suresh of Congress, Brij Bhushan Saran Singh of BJP and Bhartruhari Mahtab of BJD, followed Modi in taking oath.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh was first among the ministers to take oath, followed by home minister and BJP chief Amit Shah. But the loudest applause was reserved for women and child development minister Smriti Irani, evidently for her giant-killing feat of defeating Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Gandhi family borough of Amethi. Modi and Shah were among those who enthusiastically thumped the desk.

Irani walked around and greeted Sonia Gandhi, who reciprocated the gesture.

While the House started with bustle in the treasury benches dominated by the BJP, the opposition camp led by Congress wore a quiet look. The benches were headed by Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi in the absence of party chief Rahul Gandhi.

The beginning of the morning session saw the ruling camp poking fun at the Gandhi scion. Minister of state Ramdas Athavale shouted, "where is Rahul Gandhi?", which led to mocking replies from his colleagues. Rahul arrived in the House around 3.30pm after tweeting about the start of his innings as "MP from Wayanad (Kerala)". His oath was a quiet affair though, accompanied by applause from the Congress camp.