Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has amended parliamentary rules to bar MPs from using any additional words or remarks before or after their oath or affirmation of membership, PTI reported.

This came after the newly-elected Lok Sabha legislators took their oath last week. During the ceremony, several MPs had concluded their oath or affirmations by chanting slogans such as “Jai Samvidhan [Constitution]” and “Jai Palestine”. Chhatra Pal Singh Gangwar, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, had ended his oath by saying, “Jai Hindu Rashtra [Hindu nation]”.

Following this, Birla had formed a committee to frame rules for oath-taking and affirmations by members.

The amendment has been made to Rule 389 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. Birla has added a fresh clause to the “Directions by the Speaker” for regulating certain matters related to the functioning of the House that are not specifically provided in the rules.

The new rule now directs MPs not to use any words or expressions or make any remarks as a prefix or suffix to the form of oath or affirmation.

Under the new rules, action can be taken against MPs to ensure that there are no deviations from the process, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Wednesday, at the end of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, The Hindu reported.

Rijiju alleged that several members had used the “solemn occasion” of taking oath or making affirmation to send a political message.

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