New Delhi: The sight of ministers fumbling during their oath-taking is not new. Several ministers have been seen getting things messed up during the ceremony, only to be corrected by the Speaker or the President.
While politicians are perceived to be masters of extempore speaking and oratory, there is something about the oath – perhaps the sheer magnitude and relevance of the event – that sometimes gets to their heads.
On some occasions, there are first-time legislators who are not aware of the procedure. On others, there is the sheer lack of understanding the gravity of the oath. In any case, it puts into focus the form of oath – a solemn affair whose sanctity must be maintained. After all, reading out from a paper doesn’t take rocket science, does it?
Here are six times when politicians goofed up while being administered oath of office and secrecy:
1. Apna naam boliye: When Ramdas Athawale forgot to mention his name
The expansion of the Narendra Modi-led Cabinet today saw the induction of 19 new faces who were sworn-in as Ministers of State, with Republican Party of India president Ramdas Athawale being a prominent one.
Clad in a striking blue turban and a bright yellow Modi jacket to go with it, the 56-year-old veteran from Maharashtra goofed up big time while being sworn-in. Athawale forgot to mention his name at the very beginning of the oath only to be stopped by the President before proceeding. While he apologized and began reading put his oath again, the slip probably stuck to his head and he fumbled reading out the lines. President Mukherjee, in fact, had to read a few lines along with the minister in order to get him to read straight.
2. Its apekshit, not upekshit: When Tejaswi Yadav lost the plot
A similar faux pas occurred when new ministers were being sworn-in in following the Bihar elections. Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, was asked by Governor Ram Nath Kovind to repeat the oath of office after the former misread the Hindi word ‘apekshit’ (expected) during the swearing-in ceremony.
Pratap, who took the oath after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and younger brother Tejaswi Yadav, pronounced ‘apekshit’ (expected) as ‘upekshit’ (neglected), thus altering the entire meaning of the sentence. “It’s apekshit, not upekshit and you’ve to take the oath again”, the Governor told Pratap, while the crowd giggled audibly. He went on to make other errors too while reading out his oath. In one instance, he read jab as tab, only to be prompted by the Governor again.
3. Hiccups and reprimand: When Bihar MLAs got a scolding from the Speaker
Tejaswi wasn’t alone at the receiving end of the Speaker as many of the 99 first-time MLAs fumbled and forgot due procedure. Excited about their newfound opportunity of public service, many legislators took oath in the name of both Ishwar (God) and Satya Nishtha (allegiance to truth), only to be reminded by the Governor that they needed to take oath in the name of either one of them and not both.
The Pro-tem Speaker also had to remind legislators that they were not allowed to use mobile phones inside the house. Many legislators were keen to get themselves clicked while taking oath, drawing the Speaker’s ire. “Since the media is not allowed, we had to use mobile phones,” was an honest explanation from a first-time MLA.
4. When Andhra ministers took oath in the name of parents, referred to themselves as chief minister
In 2010, while being administered oath, two ministers referred to themselves as chief ministers, inadvertently or otherwise was never clear.
P Sudarshan Reddy inadvertently assumed the post of “Chief Minister” when taking oath of secrecy, while one of the senior-most members N Raghuveera Reddy swore by his parents, whom he equated with God.
5. When Bima Bharti became India's first minister without taking oath
Bihar’s Bima Bharti, who was inducted into the Jitan Ram Manjhi Cabinet following Nitish Kumar’s resignation after the Lok Sabha loss in 2014, will go down in history as the first legislator to be appointed minister without assuming oath.
Believe it or not, it was because she couldn’t read it. As it turns out, she has no formal degree and fumbled while oath was being administered to her by the Governor, D Y Patil. The estranged wife of notorious outlaw Awadesh Mandal, Bima Bharti wound up without bothering to read the entire oath.
6. When Chaudhary Devi Lal took oath as ‘Deputy Prime Minister’
The first debate into the specific form of the oath came up some 25 years ago when Chaudhary Devi Lal took oath as the ‘Deputy Prime Minister’ in the VP Singh government. While he was indeed appointed to the post, there is no provision of 'Deputy Prime Minister' in the form of oath, prescribed in the Third Schedule under Article 75(4) of the Constitution.
The matter even reached the Supreme Court, which dismissed the petition in 1990 saying description of him as Deputy Prime Minister does not confer on him any powers of the Prime Minister; it was this incident that brought to focus the sanctity of the prescribed form of oath.
