HOLDING up a copy of the Constitution, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday took oath as a Lok Sabha MP to begin her journey as an elected representative of the people five years after she joined active politics. The debutant MP, whose entry into Parliament has long been a subject of speculation, said her priority would be to raise important issues concerning the nation and fight for the country and her party. The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, took affirmation in Hindi.

 

The MP from Wayanad in Kerala held up a red and black copy of the Constitution, which Rahul Gandhi has been displaying at his public meetings, as she took her oath. Dressed in a cream Kasavu saree from Kerala, Priyanka Gandhi rose to take oath amid cheers of ‘Jodo Jodo, Bharat Jodo’ from the Congress benches. She took oath with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, her mother and Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chief Sonia Gandhi, husband Robert Vadra, son Raihan and daughter Miraya watching from the galleries. Congress MPs earlier met at the CPP office in the Parliament premises where Priyanka Gandhi was greeted and congratulated by leaders. After taking oath, Priyanka Gandhi completed the formalities and then shared a warm hug with her brother and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. She then went and sat in the fourth row with fellow Congress MPs. Ravindra Chavan (Congress), who won the Nanded by-poll also took oath in Marathi in the name of god. The House was adjourned after the oaths as opposition members came to the Well of the House and raised slogans, demanding a discussion on the Adani issue and the Sambhal violence.

 

As MPs exited the House, leaders made a beeline to congratulate Priyanka Gandhi and on the steps of the Makar Dwar. Congress MPs gathered as Rahul Gandhi clicked a photograph of Priyanka Gandhi with the Samvidhan Sadan in the background. “It will strengthen Rahul Gandhi, the party and the principles of the Constitution because we are fighting for that,” she told reporters when asked about the impact of her entering Parliament. Asked about taking the oath holding up the Constitution, Priyanka Gandhi said it signifies that “nothing is above the Constitution for us and we will continue to fight for it”. Priyanka Gandhi also met the Congress president after taking oath and took his blessings. Posting pictures of him blessing Priyanka Gandhi, Kharge said on X, “I am confident that Priyanka Gandhi will become a strong voice of the people of the country, especially women, in Parliament.”

 

“Her able leadership, compassion, courage, decency and determination, and her firm commitment to the principles of the Constitution will benefit the people of the country,” he said. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi also expressed happiness over Priyanka Gandhi taking oath as an MP, saying “we are all proud”. Sharing a photograph with his mother Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi posted in Hindi on his WhatsApp channel, “Of the people, by the people, for the people - Jai Hind.” Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, “Since childhood, we have all seen on television the members of the Gandhi family displaying amazing dignity during the assassination of Indira Ji or Rajiv Ji. The entire country would break into tears, but the Gandhi family, a symbol of the unique tradition of sacrificing everything for the country, always considered the country bigger than their personal grief.” When Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi took oath as a Member of Parliament for the first time with a copy of the Constitution in her hand, all those scenes came back in front of the eyes, he said.