BJP’s S Jaishankar and Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien among Rajya Sabha members to take oath on August 21

Nine newly elected or re-elected members of the Rajya Sabha, including Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) S Jaishankar and Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien, are scheduled to take oath in the Rajya Sabha Chamber of Parliament House at 11 am on August 21.

The members from the BJP include Nagendra Ray, Kesridevsinh Digvijaysinh Jhala, Babubhai Jesangbhai Desai, and S Jaishankar. The members from the Trinamool Congress include Dola Sen, Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Prakash Chik Baraik, Samirul Islam, and Derek O’Brien.

Earlier in July, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had filed his nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. Jaishankar had been elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat in 2019 when he became a part of the Union Cabinet.

During the recent parliament monsoon session, Derek O’Brien, a Trinamool Congress leader, was suspended from the Rajya Sabha. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar had announced his suspension for the rest of the session but allowed him back into the house after about 35 minutes. Union Minister Piyush Goyal had moved a motion to suspend O’Brien for the rest of the monsoon session following his attempt to speak under rule 267, which the Opposition alliance had been using to seek a discussion on the Manipur issue.

These nine members are among the Rajya Sabha members who were elected or re-elected from across Goa, Gujarat, and West Bengal in elections held on July 24. The counting of the votes also took place on the same date.

(With inputs from ANI)