AAP's Swati Maliwal takes oath twice after Chair finds first one improper

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, 'this is a solemn occasion. Instances were earlier also where there were diversions on the oath and corrections had to be made. She is a young member of the House.'

New Delhi: AAP's Swati Maliwal on Wednesday had to take oath as Rajya Sabha MP twice as she initially read out the oath for nominated MPs, ending with ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ slogan.

Along with Maliwal, AAP's ND Gupta and nominated MP Satnam Singh Sandhu also took oath in Rajya Sabha on the first day of the Budget Session. AAP's Sanjay Singh, who is presently in jail, was not present for oath taking.

While Singh and Gupta are returning to the Rajya Sabha for a second term, Maliwal has replaced AAP's SC Gupta, who wanted to concentrate on Haryana and fight elections from there.

Maliwal is a former chairperson of Delhi Commission for women. All the AAP MPs were elected unopposed.

Rajya Sabha Secretariat sources said Maliwal had to take oath twice as Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar did not consider the first one as legal, as she read out some words which were not part of the oath of an elected MP.

In the House, Dhankhar said, “this is a solemn occasion. Instances were earlier also where there were diversions on the oath and corrections had to be made. She is a young member of the House.”

Sources said she took the wrong oath initially, as she read the version of oath meant for nominated Rajya Sabha MPs and due to “unwarranted” sloganeering. Second time, Maliwal took the correct oath and did not say ‘Inquilab Zindabad’.

Sandhu, a nominated member, was the first to take oath in the Rajya Sabha. "You have created history. You are the first person to have taken oath in the new building of Parliament," Dhankhar told Sandhu.

Sandhu, Chancellor of the private Chandigarh University and who is considered to be close to the BJP, was on Tuesday nominated to the Rajya Sabha.