New Delhi: The first session of Parliament after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections began today, with the newly-elected MPs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers taking oath.

BJP MP from Odisha Bhartruhari Mahtab was first administered the oath as the Pro-Tem Speaker by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning. He then called upon the Prime Minister to take oath as Member of the House.

About 280 newly-elected MPs are taking oath today, while the remaining 263 Parliamentarians, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, will take oath  tomorrow.

The row over the appointment of seven-time BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the Pro-Tem Speaker escalated as the Congreses raised the issue. The post of Pro-Tem Speaker, a temporary one, traditionally goes to the senior-most MP of the Lok Sabha.

The Congress, which was expecting Kodikunnil Suresh, a Dalit leader and an eight-time MP from Kerala, to be named Pro-Tem Speaker, has criticised the BJP over the appointment of Mahtab.

Meanwhile, the full-time Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected on June 26. Until a new Speaker is elected, the Pro-Tem Speaker presides over the first few sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the election for the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

PM Modi is expected to announce the new Speaker’s name on June 26 (Wednesday).

Also, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha will be chosen for the first time in ten years.

The Opposition is expected to raise the alleged irregularities in competitive exams such as NEET and NET. Amid the escalating row, the Centre on Saturday replaced National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Subodh Singh and set up a seven-member Panel to review the agency’s functioning and recommend exam reforms. Subodh has been replaced by Pradeep Singh Kharola, a former Karnataka bureaucrat.

The Congress last week held protests across the country over the NEET exam fiasco, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Prez address

President Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27 (Thursday). She may outline the new Government’s roadmap for the next five years. The session will conclude on July 3.