Rahul Gandhi takes oath as Lok Sabha MP with copy of Constitution in his hand

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took oath in Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament (MP) from Raebareli on Tuesday with a copy of the Constitution in his hand.

He was part of the remaining MPs who took their oaths today after a total of 262 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, did so on Monday, the inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha.

Yesterday too, while Prime Minister Modi approached the stage to take his oath yesterday, Rahul Gandhi was seen displaying a copy of the Constitution.

"I, Rahul Gandhi... Having been elected a member of the House of People, do solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter. Jia Hind Jai Samvidan," the social media platform X of Congress Party posted alongside a video of Rahul Gandhi's oath taking.

Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party's general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also arrived at the Parliament for Rahul's oath-taking ceremony.

Besides Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Mahua Moitra, Supriya Sule and Kanimozhi are some of the key leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc who are taking oath on the second day of the 18th Lok Sabha.

Rahul Gandhi won from both Raebareli and Wayanad Lok Sabha constituencies in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. While Rahul Gandhi won with a margin of 364422 votes from Wayanad defeating Communist Party of India's Annie Raja, in Raebareli, he won with a margin of 390030 votes from Raebareli defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's Dinesh Pratap Singh.

After Rahul Gandhi announced that he would resign as an MP from Wayanad and will keep the Raebareli constituency, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced Priyanka Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad last week.

If Priyanka Gandhi wins from Wayanad, three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family will be in Parliament - Sonia Gandhi in Rajya Sabha and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, efforts by the BJP's top leadership to reach a consensus on the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha came to nought when the INDIA bloc decided to nominate 8-time MP K Suresh for the post.

His nomination followed the filing of nomination by BJP's Kota MP Om Birla for the same position. Birla previously served as the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha.

This will be the first time that elections are held for the Speaker of the lower house, as traditionally the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker have been elected by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition.

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that they had informed Rajnath Singh that the Opposition is prepared to support NDA's Speaker candidate, on the condition that the Deputy Speaker position is given to the opposition.