LS to adjourn today after paying homage to Munde

In a rare gesture, the first day of the new Lok Sabha on Wednesday will see no business transacted as the House will be adjourned for the day after paying tributes to Union Minister Gopinath Munde who died in a road mishap. In the recent past, there has been no transaction of business on the very first day of a newly-constituted Lok Sabha.

Senior Congress MP Kamal Nath, the Protem Speaker, will preside over the proceedings of the Lok Sabha. He will be administered the oath by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan before the Lower House assembles for the day.

The first thing that will happen in the Lok Sabha is the reading out of a notification constituting the 16th Lok Sabha by Lok Sabha Secretary General P Sreedharan. Kamal Nath will then move the obituary reference to Munde.

The members will then observe a two-minute silence as a mark of respect to the departed member and then the House will adjourn for the day, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after the Cabinet meeting to condole Munde's death. 

As the House will be adjourned after obituary reference, the oath-taking of new members cannot take place on Wednesday. As per the original schedule, new members were to take oath on Wednesday and Thursday.

According to the revised schedule, new members will now take oath on June 5 till late in the night and half day of June 6, Naidu told reporters. During the second half of June 6, the election of the Speaker will be taken up.

In a resolution passed by the Cabinet, Munde was described as a "grassroot politician with a mass base and an ardent advocate of democracy".

"In his untimely demise, the nation has lost an experienced and visionary leader who was held in high esteem across the political spectrum. On behalf of the entire nation, the Cabinet extends its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," the Cabinet resolution said.

The government also decided to accord a state funeral to Munde at his native Parli in Maharashtra on Wednesday.