Trinamool leader takes Matua guru’s name during oath to House, VP Dhankar asks her to follow set format: Rajya Sabha Dy Chairman

New Delhi [India], April 11 (ANI): Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Thakur, who was recently elected to the Upper House of Parliament, was made to take her oath again after she substituted the name of a Matua community guru in the place of “God” while talking oath of office, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh said.

The Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman said that Thakur had on Wednesday violated Article 99 of the Constitution.

Speaking to ANI, Singh said that Thakur took oath in Bangla but made changes according to her personal choice.

Harichand Thakur is a revered saint of the Matua community, to which Mamata Thakur belongs.

According to Singh the TMC leader was asked by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to read out the prescribed format instead of the deviation.

“Mamata Thakur from West Bengal took oath in Bangla but made changes according to personal choice. She replaces the word ‘God’ with the name of her deity. This is a violation of Article 99 of the Constitution, which dictates a format for the oath to the Parliament. The Chairman of the house ordered her to take the oath again, which she complied with,” Singh said.

He further said that the Constitution does not allow any difference from the prescribed rules as it will be considered illegal and will be considered null and void.

“Nominated members can take an oath according to the third schedule of the constitution. They can take oaths in the languages listed in the eighth list of languages. The Constitution does not allow any difference from the prescribed rules as it will be considered illegal and it will be considered null and void… There have been previous cases of deviations as well and have been dealt with by the Chairman of the House accordingly,” the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman said.

Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday administered oath to 10 of the newly elected members of the upper house of Parliament.

Those who were administered oath of office include Mayankbhai Jaydevbhai Nayak, Narayanasa K Bhandage, Milind Murli Deora, Ajeet Madhavrao Gopchade, Renuka Chowdhury, Amarpal Maurya, Sanjay Seth, Ramji Lal Suman, Sagarika Ghose and Mamata Thakur.

The oath was administered in the new Parliament building.