“Krishna, Guruvayurappa,” exclaimed Suresh Gopi, the first BJP MP from Kerala, before taking his oath in the 18th Lok Sabha. Gopi, elected from Thrissur, embraced his roots by taking the oath in Malayalam and has been appointed Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum.
This year’s oath-taking ceremony showcased India’s linguistic diversity. Newly-elected MPs took their oaths in languages from the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Dogri, Assamese, and Odia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his oath in Hindi, with “Jai Shri Ram” chants echoing from the treasury benches. Other key ministers, like Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Annapurna Devi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and ML Khattar, followed suit in Hindi.
Amid opposition chants of “NEET, NEET” due to recent exam controversies, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took his oath in Odia. Shripad Yesso Naik, MoS for Power and Renewable Energy, chose Sanskrit for his sixth term oath from North Goa.
Sukanta Majumdar (Education and North Eastern Development) took his oath in Bengali, Pune MP Muralidhar Mohol (Aviation) in Marathi, and Jitender Singh (Udhampur) in Dogri. Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu and Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy both chose Telugu. Sarbananda Sonowal (Ports and Shipping) took his oath in Assamese, while Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi took theirs in Kannada.
However, Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Bihar’s Saran expressed regret for not being able to take his oath in Bhojpuri.