Amit Shah, Smriti Irani take oath as RS members

BJP chief Amit shah took oath as Rajya Sabha members on Friday making his debut in the Parliament. Along with him, Union Cabinet Minister Smriti Irani also took oath as member of the Upper House.

The two leaders were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat earlier this month. Ahmed Patel of Congress had won the third seat in the fiercely fought elections.

Their inclusion, especially of Shah, considered a hard taskmaster, is expected to improve BJP'S performance in the Upper House where it recently has also became the single largest party.

Shah, who is expected to become the leader of the house in Rajya Sabha, will ensure that BJP to fall in line and register their presence during the business of the House. During the past sessions, the BJP had to face embarrassment on several occasions when it failed to muster numbers in Rajya Sabha even for the key bills forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reprimand them at least thrice.

Both the leaders, accompanied by their spouses, were administered the oath in Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu's chamber. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad were also present at the ceremony.

SHAH’S RS AGENDA

• Amit Shah is expected to improve BJP’s perfromance in the Upper House.
   
• He will ensure that BJP registers its presence during the business of the House.