Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah and Union minister Smriti Irani were today administered oath as Rajya Sabha members by Vice President and Chairman of the Upper House Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi.
While the BJP president makes his debut in Rajya Sabha, it will be the second term for Smriti Irani. Both were elected to the Upper House from Gujarat earlier this month.
They were accompanied by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad among others, PTI reported.
Both Shah and Irani won in the Rajya Sabha elections to three seats in Gujarat while the third seat was retained by Congress leader Ahmed Patel.
The victory for Patel was seen as a shot in the arm for the Congress with the election turning out to be a battle of prestige. The BJP had fielded Congress rebel Balwantsinh Rajput against Ahmed Patel in the poll.
Speaking of Shah’s entry into the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed hope that he would keep MPs on their toes now. “Your days of leisure are over,” he reportedly told a gathering of BJP parliamentarians earlier this month.
Known as a hard taskmaster, Modi had expressed hope that Shah’s presence in the Parliament will bring about favourable outcomes for the BJP.
(With agencies)
