• Source:JND
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Lok Sabha First Session:  The first day of the 18th Lok Sabha's first session began on Monday with the oath-taking by several leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and others. Amid the oath-taking, the opening day also witnessed a fierce attack by the opposition on the ruling side on the issues of paper leaks of NEET (UG) 2024 and the appointment of BJP's Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem speaker.

Congress party termed the appointment of seven-term MP Mahtab as against the established traditions of the Lower House. Senior members of the INDIA bloc, including Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders staged a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue.

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Speaking on the issue of the pro-tem speaker, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said: "The ruling party hasn't forgotten their haughtiness. We can see that they are ignoring the key issues of the country. The whole Dalit community in India could witness a historic scene if K Suresh were appointed as Pro-tem Speaker. Today, BJP has not just neglected Congress, INDIA bloc and K Suresh but the entire Dalit community."

Along with Congress, other parties of the INDIA bloc also expressed dissatisfaction over the pro-tem speaker issue.

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"We are protesting because the provisions of the Constitution have been violated. The Constitution has been violated by the Narendra Modi government. The way the pro-tem speaker has been appointed is a violation of the Constitutional provision and clear violation of the earlier precedence," Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said.

Along with this, the ongoing issue of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET)-UG exams dominated the first day of the Parliament session.

As Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was taking oath as a member of the Parliament, the opposition MPs demonstrated their anger over the alleged irregularities in the NEET exams. The House witnessed the slogans of 'NEET' being raised on the first day.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the ruling BJP over the NEET-UG row. He claimed that the BJP "gets exam papers leaked" to "please" its people.

(With ANI Inputs)