Modi, Shah, Rajnath, Gadkari take oath as members of 18th Lok Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took oath as member of the 18th Lok Sabha.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also took oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

While Singh has retained the Lucknow seat in Uttar Pradesh, Shah returned from Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Gadkari from Nagpur in Maharashtra.

Before Singh, Shah and Gadkari, two senior members -- Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both BJP), who will assist the pro tem speaker in administering oath over the next two days, took oath as members of the new House.

They will help pro tem speaker B Mahtab run the House when members take oath on Monday and Tuesday.

Congress member K Suresh (Congress), T R Baalu (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (Trinamool Congress), who were called to take oath as they were also appointed as panel of chairpersons like Singh and Kulaste, did not turn up to take oath.

The Congress had taken objection to Mahtab's appointment, contending that the claim of eight-term member Suresh, a Dalit leader, was overlooked.

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) has said opposition leaders Suresh, Baalu and Bandopadhyay will not join the panel of chairpersons as a mark of protest.

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also took oath as member of the new Lok Sabha.

Modi returned to power for a third consecutive term earlier this month. Modi and his Council of Ministers took oath on June 9.

This is the third term of Modi as a member of the Lok Sabha. He retained the Varanasi seat, which he has been winning since 2014. As Leader of the House, he was the first one to take oath.